To Compete or Not to Compete: Is That the Question?

A recent New York Times article highlighted an increasing trend in the areas of antitrust, competition, and employment law: the enforcement of covenants not to compete in decidedly atypical fields. Steven Greenhouse, “Noncompete Clauses Increasingly Pop Up in Array of Jobs,” N.Y. Times, June 8, 2014. For years, covenants not to compete have been used to protect the legitimate business interests of big business and in the areas of science and technology, but the past few years have seen an expansion from these traditional uses to use in employment contracts in everyday jobs, such as the work of hairdressers and camp counselors.