Covenants Not to Solicit in Alabama

A covenant not to solicit is one alternative for an employer who seeks to restrain an employee once he leaves his employment.  In general, these are subject to many of the same defenses as ordinary covenants not to compete.

They do not disallow all association with competitors, but instead focus more narrowly on the sales function, prohibiting the solicitation of certain former customers, clients or contacts.

An example of a non-solicitation covenant would be:


For one year after termination of employment with Company, Employee agrees that Employee will not directly or indirectly solicit on behalf of any competitor of Company any person, firm or company that Employee directly or indirectly dealt with during the last two years of Employee's employment by Company.

In many situations, a non-solicitation covenant may be as effective as a blanket ban on competitive employment for many employees.  For example, a non-solicitation covenant may effectively prevent a salesman who has strong personal relationships with vendors from calling on the same vendors for a competitor company.  At the same time, they might allow the former salesman to work a different territory for the period of the covenant, without violating the agreement.  The salesman could carefully limit his contacts with former customers, and avoid breaching a narrowly drawn non-solicitation covenant.  Other alternatives for a salesmen stuck with a non-solicitation covenant include  a range of available jobs at the new employer in order to wait out the period covered by the agreement.

Page Law Firm has years of experience in advising both employers and employees about non-solicitation covenants.  Call Page Law Firm for advice.  We offer reasonably priced initial consultations.