Last week I had the pleasure of being a panelist at the Association for Corporate Growth (Boston) and the Turnaround Management Association (Northeast) joint conference on “Challenges and Opportunities in US Manufacturing.” A theme common to all of the speakers was the need to address workforce issues, whether with respect to training, engagement or transition. 

The challenges posed by human capital can often propel or derail improvement strategies, yet certain employment law issues are often overlooked or only addressed at the last minute. If in-house counsel are aware that an improvement plan that requires the exit of employees is being considered, the following issues in advance may help alleviate some last minute problems.

1. Be sure that all employees have up-to-date, enforceable post-employment restrictive covenants. After implementing a layoff or termination of employees, the last thing that a company needs is to be surprised by a former employee’s attempt to use the company’s confidential information or goodwill to give a competitor an advantage. Reviewing existing confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements for enforceability under applicable state laws, and even considering the company’s plan (and costs) for enforcement of post-termination restrictive covenants, will go far to help avoid unpleasant surprises.