Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
You found a better job, or you were let go, and now a letter from
your old employer’s lawyer waves the non-compete you signed years ago
and tells you that you cannot take the new position. It feels like a
trap. You signed the paper because you needed the job, no one let you
negotiate it, and now it threatens the paycheck your family depends on.
Here is what the letter does not tell you. Illinois has rewritten the
rules in favor of employees, and many of the non-competes that employers
still mail out are not enforceable at all.
This is a plain guide for an Illinois worker who has been handed a
non-compete or a cease-and-desist letter. The law gives you more
protection than the letter suggests, and knowing where the lines fall is
what turns a scary demand into a manageable one.