CLIENT ALERT – New Hampshire Legislature Enacts Legislation Governing Employee Restrictive Covenants

In what is the latest development in states taking an increasingly employee-protective stance on restrictive employment covenants, New Hampshire has enacted new legislation that threatens the validity of restrictive covenants. The new legislation requires employers to provide a copy of any non-compete or non-piracy agreement that is a condition of the employment agreement to an employee or potential employee before or at the time an offer of employment, or change in job classification, is made to the individual. The new law, which went into effect on July 14, 2012, provides that if such a contingent agreement is not provided to the employee or applicant before or at the time of the offer, the agreement will be considered “void and unenforceable.