Protectable Intersts -- General Skill vs. Specialized Training
As we have mentioned on this blog a number of time before, Covenants Not to Compete must be supported by a protectable business interest in order to be enforceable. One such interest may be the skills that the business has imparted to its employees. However, what sort of "skills" will support a non-compete agreement?
As the Court of Appeals has noted, "an employer does not have a protectable interest in the general knowledge and skill of an employee." Vantage Technology, LLC v. Cross, 17 S.W.3d 637, 645 (Tenn.Ct.App.1999). Nevertheless, an employer may have a protectable interest in the unique knowledge and skill that an employee receives through special training by his employer, at least when such training is present along with other factors tending to show a protectable interest.
Ultimately, whether an employer has a protectable interest in its investment in training an employee depends on whether the skill acquired as a result of that training is sufficiently special as to make a competing use of it by the employee unfair.