At-will employment law may change
Related News
- 01/20/10 — Legislator targets public employees for pay cuts in constitutional amendment
- 11/18/09 — NV initiative criticized for being anti-worker
- 11/06/09 — Loudon pushes ahead on SOS Ballot Effort
- 09/28/09 — Jobs debate continues to rage ahead of casino vote
- 09/26/09 — Secret ballot advocates stop petition drive, turn to state Legislature
- More Economic Security news
Macon.com: Georgia is an “at-will” employment state. “At-will” means that, in the absence of a contract guaranteeing employment for a specific period of time, employers and employees are free to terminate their relationships at any time and for any reason — good, bad or none at all. You see very few lawsuits for “wrongful discharge” in Georgia since most everyone is employed at-will. You can’t wrongfully discharge someone when you don’t need to provide a reason for your decision. To keep things fair, Georgia has a state Constitutional provision that prohibits general restraints against trade. Courts use this provision to restrict employers who force their employees to sign noncompete agreements. (A noncompete agreement is just what it sounds like: a contract that prevents employees from competing or working for your competitors.) Employers from other states who conduct business in Georgia and hire its residents are frustrated by our noncompete laws. After all, the doctrine of at-will employment is almost dead throughout the United States. Nowadays there are so many federal laws restricting business activities that the doctrine is weak even in Georgia.
The fact of the matter is that it is easy for employees to sue, so why shouldn’t the playing field be leveled? If you are going to be stuck with your employees, then it seems only fair that they should be stuck with you. Your Legislature agrees. It recently passed a new law that makes employee noncompete agreements easier to enforce. The governor signed the law, but it won’t go into effect unless the Georgia Constitution is amended in a statewide referendum scheduled for 2010. If we amend the state Constitution, the new law will allow you to restrict former employees from conducting any activity that is competitive with you within the geographic area where the employees conducted the activity within a reasonable period of time prior to the termination of the employment relationship, even if that includes the entire country. Restrictions must be described in writing and signed by both parties. A duration of two years or less will be presumed to be reasonable.
To read more, click here.
Comments
There are no comments for this entry.
