Halloween is always a great time for adults and children. Just think about it, for at least one night we intentionally abandon every notion we teach our children about taking candy from strangers, not acting deceptively, not scaring people unnecessarily and otherwise not acting like little hellions. Indeed, we encourage the opposite. Scary little monsters will roam my neighborhood seeking free candy from strangers who often try to frighten them. Under the pretense of nonchalance, parents will watchfully keep a respectful distance from all front doors as their children boldly explore what an unknown witch or werewolf might hand out as “trick” or “treat.”

And so it goes this season all around our great nation.

And so it goes in many an employment agreement as well. Many of our clients require their employees to execute a non-competition agreement as part of their continued employment. While not all states favor agreements that restrain trade (some essentially disallow non-competition agreements altogether), Florida has detailed statutes spelling out the requirements of a valid non-competition agreement and many cases considering the issue to help all parties involved determine how best to deal with a departing employee.

What remains unclear is whether or not the non-competition agreement in force is a “trick” or a “treat” to either the former employer or to the former employee, or to neither. The answer is that it depends on the circumstances. Florida law recognizes that under certain circumstances an employer has the right to protect its trade secrets, its customers and its remaining employees from the competition of departing employees. While this sounds as if it solely favors the former employer, under many circumstances the situation is ̶ to keep with the theme ̶ more tricky. Often the customers whom the former employer seeks to insulate prefer to continue to work with the former employee. We’ve seen circumstances where customers of the former employer actually pull their business because the former employer has initiated legal action against a former employee pursuant to a seemingly enforceable non-competition agreement.

So what is an employer to do? Remember Halloween. Even when it’s seemingly okay to “trick,” sometimes it’s better to offer a “treat.” In a recent matter, the former employer had a stock repurchase agreement in force for departing officers and managers. The repurchase agreement had a formula that discounted the share value for departing employees. The former employer also informed the departing employee that it intended to enforce the (rather restrictive) non-competition agreement. However, when the former employers’ customers complained about losing the person with whom they had forged a professional relationship, the former employer opted to enter into a consulting agreement with the departing employee rather than to initiate a lawsuit. The benefits of this were many and obvious. First, the former employer could mollify its customer and maintain continuity on the job. However additional benefits also resulted. For one, the former employer could both keep tabs on the former employee (and its customers) and at the same time profit from the continued relationship. A supplemental benefit was that it made any violation of the parties’ agreement other than through the consulting agreement seem all-the-more egregious. In that way, if the matter ever made its way to a courtroom, at least the former employer could argue that it took every possible step to act reasonably.

You might find yourself in a circumstance when there are better business alternatives available than simply initiating litigation to enforce a non-competition agreement. Even though it’s the Halloween season, don’t be scared.