Implied Promise by Employer Validates Non-Compete
The Texas Supreme Court recently weighed in again on the enforceability of non-compete agreements under Texas law. Specifically, the Court held that an employer need not expressly promise to provide confidential information to an employee in return for a promise not to disclose the information. Instead, the Court held that an employer impliedly promises to provide confidential information "when the nature of the work the employee is hired to perform requires confidential information to be provided for the work to be performed by the employee..." Because the non-compete was ancillary to the parties' otherwise enforceable agreement regarding confidential information, the non-compete was enforceable. The Court's opinion in Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp Advisors, Inc. v. Fielding can be found at this link.
