KANSAS CITY BREACH OF CONTRACT LAWYER: BAD FAITH, CONTRACTS, AND DEFAMATION CLAIMS

Contracts between employee and employer are a regular part of employment, even when an employee is ‘at-will.’ Employers often require employees to enter into non-competition, non-solicitation, and other agreements as a condition of their job. Employers must honor the contracts and agreements they enter into with their employees and contractors. When they fail to do so, act in bad faith, defame you, or engage in business practices that interferes with your relationship with another company, your employer can and should be held responsible.

Let’s imagine, for example, that a former employee begins working for a competitor in the same industry. You would hope they would refrain from disclosing trade secrets that make your services competitive, in the industry. a well-written non-compete and non-disclosure agreement would ideally prevent a loss of business to competitors while keeping everyone’s interests in mind, as well. Ideally, the former employee would be required to refrain from working for any industry competitors for a certain number of years, in order to avoid potentially taking business away from their former employer.

Another example is if a former employee leaves your company to start their own business. Ideally, a non-compete agreement would limit the geographical location of the former employee’s new business clients, so as to avoid cutting into your current client base. Furthermore, a non-solicitation agreement would prevent a former employee from reaching out to your existing business clients.  

To give an example of a good versus bad faith claim in the real world, let’s consider a scenario in which an employee performs well on periodic employee reviews, therefore leaving them to believe they have no reason to be terminated. Considering they are suddenly handed a proverbial pink slip, they may feel blindsided and unprepared for such treatment, believing themselves to be the victim of a bad faith breach. 

It is important to note that in some states, such as California, employers are unable to enforce non-compete clauses; in fact, if they attempt to do so, they can be sued. North Dakota, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Utah also have legal limitations in place for employers, with regard to non-compete clauses. 

Moreover, a 2021 study found that lower-wage workers should not be subject to non-compete agreements, since they can be bad for the economy and healthy industry competition. Be sure to watch out for any potential red flags you may be overlooking, in the event you are asked to waive some of your legal rights in the future, in exchange for some compromise of clauses or agreements.

Swartz Law represents employees in Boston and throughout Massachusetts with all aspects of employment law, including handling contract, bad faith, interference and defamation claims including the following:

• Breach of employment, equity, and independent contractor agreements
• Breach of severance and settlement agreements
• Violations of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing
• Interference with contractual or business relations
• Unreasonable restrictive covenants, including in non-competition and non-solicitation agreements
• Defamation

With over fifteen years of experience handling such claims, Attorney Swartz can answer your questions, help you understand your rights and options, and pursue any claim you have.