November 21, 2013. Massachusetts Ruling says no. LinkedIn profiles have become a hot subject in non-compete litigation, with employees using their profiles to transition employment. In KNF&T v. Muller, a Massachusetts staffing company filed a lawsuit against its former executive for violating a non-competition agreement by posting an update on LinkedIn, which notified over 500 contacts of her new job, including many clients of her former employer. Her former employer took her to court seeking an injunction, claiming she violated her one-year non-compete agreement which prevented her from soliciting her former employer’s clients.
The Massachusetts state court held that the ex-employee’s new job did not directly compete with her previous position, because it involved recruiting in the information technology field. This case highlights the importance of paying particular attention to the terms of a non-compete agreement when drafting and negotiating it, as social media has changed the landscape of non-competition agreement negotiation. Another court has held that an e-mail blast may constitute solicitation, violating the terms of a non-compete agreement. Because social media has expanded in scope, the law is playing catch-up. We can expect that the Court rulings we will see will be fact-dependent and vary somewhat among jurisdictions.To learn more about non-competes and employment law, contact Goosmann Law at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712.226.4000.