No-poach Agreements: A New Generation of Restrictions

Foley Partner Russell Beck authored an article that appeared on Computerworld on October 30, 2009 titled “No-poach agreements: A new generation of restrictions.” Beck discusses agreements made between two unrelated companies to not poach each other’s employees, referred to as “no-hire pacts” or “no-poach agreements.” He notes that companies can maximize the likelihood that no-poach agreements will be enforced and minimize the risk of violating antitrust laws by making the terms of the agreements known to employees and using them as a supplement to other restrictive covenants. (Note: This article also appeared on CIO.)