HR Professional - February/March 2009 - (Page 17) UPFRONT C O U RT S | T I T L E S | M A N A G I N G LAW A P P E A L C O U R T D E FA N G S NON- COMP AGREEMENTS their former clients, whether solicited or not. The clause also had no geographical limits, nor were there any limits to the type of work former employees were prohibited from conducting. What employers should take away from this is that they should not be overreaching in trying to protect themselves, says David Eienbaas, a partner at McMillan Binch LLP’s labour and employment group. “The courts invariably take the side of a departed employee in terms of ability to make a living and compete. If an employer has proprietary information that it doesn’t want the employee to use to the employer’s detriment, it should be thinking of using confidentiality agreements and non-solicitation agreements rather than non-competes. And they should be narrowly drafted.” The Ontario Court of Appeal recently struck down a $2 million award for breach of a non-competition covenant in a decision that further dilutes noncompetition agreements in standard employee/ employer relationships. In H. L. Staebler Company Limited v. Allan et al, released last August, the appeal court overturned a $2 million award to Waterloo, Ont., insurance broker H. L. Staebler Company Limited. The original trial court decision found against two former employees who’d quit the company and took more than 110 clients with them to a rival, Stevenson & Hunt, who was also named in the suit. In overturning the decision, the appeal court found Staebler’s non-competition clause to be unreasonable because it went beyond merely barring former employees from soliciting Staebler clients. In fact, the clause precluded the former employees from conducting any business with TIP FROM FROM THE TOP Source: McBillan Binch LLP Management Broadening the C-suite As budgets for bonuses and raises dry up amid a tanking economy, it appears many organizations are handing out titles in lieu of pay increases, according to a recent article in The New York Times. The trend isn’t new. Leonard Lodish, a Wharton marketing professor, says there are many more presidents in U.S. companies than there were 15 years ago. There’s real presidents, of course— l the ones who run the show—but there’s also presidents of regions, divisions and product lines. The C-suite has exploded in recent years, with top positions for IT, sustainability and diversity joining more traditional senior execs in finance, law and HR. However, there are two sides to this coin. While a lofty title means more recognition and leverage in dealings with customers or officialdom, it can also dilute the value of the executive office, especially when you’ve got numerous directors, vice-presidents and executive vice-presidents handing out their fancy new cards. INSIGHT INTO SUSTAINABLE VALUE “ONLY WHEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INITIATIVES ARE PERCEIVED AS VALUE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE BUSINESS WILL THEY BE EFFECTIVELY INTEGRATED BY SHAREHOLDERS. ONLY WHEN BUSINESS INITIATIVES ARE PERCEIVED AS VALUE CONTRIBUTORS TO SOCIETY WILL THE PURSUIT OF PROFIT BE GIVEN FULL SUPPORT BY STAKEHOLDERS.” —FROM CHRIS LASZLO’S SUSTAINABLE VALUE: HOW THE WORLD’S LEADING COMPANIES ARE DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD F e b r u a r y / M a r c h 2 0 0 9 17 Source: The New York Times w w w.H RThought L ea der. c om http://www.hrthoughtLeader.com
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