“Will It Play in Peoria?!”: Fed. Court Casts Doubt on Continued Vitality of ‘Two – Year Rule’ to Enforce Non-Compete

Fifield v. Premier 2013 IL App (1st) 120327 is (was?) an important case in employment law circles for cementing the “two year rule”: two years of continuous employment is the bare minimum length of at-will employment required for an employer to enforce a restrictive covenant. From the employer’s vantage point, the rule was troubling since it …

Two-Year Continuous Employment Rule to Support Non-Compete Validated by Illinois Appeals Court

Fifield v. Premier, 2013 IL App (1st) 120327 is rightly regarded as a watershed case in Illinois employment and non-compete law circles for squarely stating that two years of continuous employment is the required consideration to support a non-compete agreement in an at-will setting. Prairie Rheumatology Associates, SC v. Francis, 2014 IL App (3d) 140338 represents an appeals court’s …

Non-Compete Signed 16 Years After Employment Start Date Is Too Late (To Be Enforced) – Says KY High Court

In prior articles, I’ve discussed how restrictive covenants (i.e., non-disclosure, non-solicitation and non-competition provisions) are staples of modern-day employment contracts and business sale agreements.  In Creech, Inc. v. Brown (http://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/2014/2012-sc-000651-dg.html) the Supreme Court of Kentucky struck down a non-competition provision in a hay supplier’s written contract the supplier made a long-time employee sign several years after he started working there. The …