CAN YOUR COMPANY TERMINATE YOU FOR REFUSING TO SIGN A REQUIRED CONTRACT?
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CAN YOUR COMPANY TERMINATE YOU FOR REFUSING TO SIGN A REQUIRED CONTRACT?
THE CONTRACT STATES: ASSOCIATE AGREES THAT DURING ASSOCIATE’S EMPLOYMENT WITH THE COMPANY AND FOR A PERIOD OF 1 YEAR FOLLOWING THE TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT FOR ANY REASON, ASSOCIATE WILL NOT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY SOLICIT OR SERVICE ANY CUSTOMER OF PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER OF THE COMPANY ON BEHALF OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY OTHER THAN THE COMPANY
Asked on June 17, 2009 under Employment Labor Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
Yes. NJ recognizes noncompete clauses (and that's essentially what you're describing) that are intended to protect a legitimate interest and are not unduly burdensome or overly broad. Protecting their customer relationships is valid, and barring you from soliciting customers for 1 year is reasonable and not overly burdensome--you could, for example, solict any potential customer save one who was an actual or prospective customer of the company.
Furthermore, NJ is an employment at will state, which means you can be fired for any reason that's not discriminatory (e.g. firing someone on account of their race) or retaliatory vs. a whistelblower (such as if you reported illegal activities or tax fraud). Firing someone for not signing an acceptable non-compete clause has specifically held to be ok by NJ courts.
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