Almost any employer has a legitimate business interest in preventing recently departed employees from competing. Employees may have access to business information that reasonably can be regarded as confidential. An employee who leaves to go to work for a competitor may intentionally use that confidential business information. Alternatively, the nature of the former employee's new position may be such that he cannot avoid using the information in performing his new duties. Naturally, a company has a legitimate business interest in preventing its former employees from engaging in competitive employment that may result in their revealing or using confidential information.
Most employers make significant investments in their employees.
Employers may invest in employee training and may pay expenses that enable employees to develop customer relationships and industry knowledge. In many cases, a competitor gains an unfair competitive advantage if it is able to divert the dividends of these investments by hiring the employer's personnel. A company has a legitimate business interest in preventing others from gaining this unfair competitive advantage. A non-competition agreement may also deter a competitor from recruiting or hiring an employee who is bound by that agreement. Whenever possible, businesses usually attempt to avoid the trouble and considerable expense of litigation.