If they fired him, that often renders agreements unenforceable, or at least difficult to enforce outside of rare circumstances. Even in states which otherwise r

If they fired him, that often renders agreements unenforceable, or at least difficult to enforce outside of rare circumstances. Even in states which otherwise recognize noncompetes, courts tend to be hostile towards companies that try to enforce them against employees where the company themselves terminated the relationship (though not all states are equally hostile). For example, here is some pretty direct language from the Montana Supreme Court [1]: We agree that an employer normally lacks a legitimate business interest in a covenant when it chooses to end the employment relationship. [...] An employer needs no covenant to protect its business in these circumstances as the employer sits in the best position to protect itself simply by maintaining the employment relationship. [1] http://www.noncompetenews.com/file.axd?file=2011%2f12%2fWrigg+v+Junkermier.pdf http://www.noncompetenews.com/file.axd?file=2011%2f12%2fWrig...