Foreign Employees and The Non-Compete Agreement
When hiring foreign workers, you’ll need permission from government agencies and may want to have them sign a non-compete agreement. Employers have to ask for certification first from the Department of Labor. A work visa issuance is not guaranteed by approval from the Department of Labor.
Once their application is approved, the employer must require a work visa for the employee from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services. Job applicants must also prove under the provisions of INA that they are admissible to the U.S.
The various foreign labor certification programs have the role to ensure that hiring foreign workers in the U.S. on a temporary or permanent basis is not going to affect negatively the wages, job opportunities, and working conditions of American workers.
One of the issues you may face as an employer of foreign workers is related to the non-compete agreements. For some companies, the non-compete agreements are necessary in order to ensure that the business doesn’t lose confidential information and trade secrets to competitors.
What is a Non-Compete Agreement Exactly?
Non-compete agreements are contractual agreements signed between a client and independent contractor or an employer and employee. They have the role to limit for a duration of time the worker’s ability after leaving his or her current job to work for a competitor.
These agreements are not only to be found between American companies and foreign workers. They also can be necessary in the case of hiring American workers. However, in order to protect trade secrets, they might be even more necessary in the case of hiring foreign workers.
How Are They Enforced?
The enforceability of a non-compete agreement depends on what state it is being applied and how it is worded. In some states courts broadly enforce non-competes agreements, while others require more narrowly tailored agreements. California and several other states do not enforce non-competes agreements in most cases.
Should I Use One?
As an employer, it is not always a good idea to require your foreign worker employees to sign a non-compete agreement. Sometimes, these agreements may have the potential to scare away any good candidates for your open position since talented people may prefer to want to keep open their options.
In case that you are considering having your foreign worker employees sign a non-compete agreement, you need to be very clear on what specifically are you worried about. This way you can better tailor your agreement so that it isn’t overly broad but addresses your concerns.
A well designed non-compete agreement has greater chances that your non-compete agreement could be enforceable in most jurisdictions. Generally, such an agreement should be reasonable in duration, scope, and its geographic reach.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/g-stockstudio