Beware of “Cribbing” Documents from the Internet

Hypothetical #1: Hypothetical: Sarah owns Sarah’s Sauces, Inc. She has 7 employees. Sarah had her employees sign an employee handbook and a non-compete agreement five days after her employees started working for her.   She took both the employee handbook and the non-compete agreement from the internet. The employee handbook states that Sarah’s business follows FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). One of the employees, Amy states that she needs FMLA.  Sarah says no because that is her busy time. Another employee, Joe quits and starts a competitor business across the street.  Sarah sues under the non-compete.

• FMLA only applies to employers with 50 or more employees unless an employer subjects itself to be covered by FMLA, which Sarah did through her employee handbook. Therefore, Sarah must follow FMLA.
• Joe is not in violation of a non-compete agreement because the non-compete agreement is not valid. Sarah did not provide any additional consideration to Joe (or any employee) when it was signed. Since it was signed after the first day of employment, additional consideration is required pursuant to law.

Hiring an attorney should occur prior to anything bad happening so that you are in the best position possible if it does.  Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP are experienced business attorneys that can help put your business in the best position possible if something bad happens.

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