Employers have a legitimate business interest in protecting certain business assets when employees leave. During their tenure, employees may gain access to information that could harm the employer’s business if measures aren’t taken to protect it.

Employers often include provisions in employment contracts that limit an ex-employee’s ability to use confidential and proprietary information gained during employment. If an ex-employee improperly uses this protected information, Connecticut law allows an employer to sue and have the employee ordered to stop.

A preliminary injunction is an effective temporary remedy when time is of the essence, and the resolution of pending litigation is somewhere down the road. However, as the employment  lawyers at Wofsey Rosen would like to point out, injunctions aren’t given out like candy, and careful consideration is required when preparing a request for injunctive relief.

When Injunctions Are Effective Tools in Employment Disputes

Employers and employees can obtain immediate relief from specific harm in employment disputes with injunctions. Relief is needed before a final determination of litigation because, without the court order, irreparable harm will occur, and money damages won’t be an adequate remedy and won’t solve the employer’s problem.

Employers typically seek injunctive relief in two types of litigated employee actions:

• Violation of a restrictive covenant in an employment agreement (ie, non-competes)
• Disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information (ie, trade secrets). Note that employers are entitled to protection from the misappropriation of trade secrets even without a written confidentiality agreement.

Employees seek injunctive relief to end the continuation of prohibited workplace behaviors, such as:

• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Retaliation

Restrictive covenants in Connecticut are agreements between an employer and an employee that bar the employee from engaging for a period of time after their employment ends in a particular type of business or from working within a particular geographic area. The scope of such agreements is limited by common (or case) law in Connecticut.

Types of Injunctive Relief Available to Employers in Connecticut

A court can issue an injunction immediately or after notice to the adverse party. The nature of the harm and the inability to rectify it are key considerations in deciding whether to grant or deny injunctive relief.

The following forms of injunctive relief may be obtained in employment disputes.

Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)

In employment disputes, temporary restraining orders can be issued immediately without notice to the adverse party when the facts indicate substantial and irreparable injury will otherwise be unavoidable. TROs are issued for a very short duration, until a hearing on a temporary injunction has been scheduled.

Temporary Injunction

Temporary injunctions are a preliminary remedy in employment disputes. A request for a temporary injunction may be made at the outset of litigation or at any time during the case’s pendency. The purpose of the temporary injunction is to preserve the status quo until the dispute is resolved. A preliminary injunction typically remains in effect until the dispute is resolved after a full trial.

Permanent Injunction

Permanent injunctions are only issued as part of a final judgment after a full trial.  Permanent injunctions are issued when the adverse party’s conduct is found to be illegal and must be prohibited indefinitely or until circumstances change fundamentally.

What Employers Must Demonstrate to Persuade a Court that Injunctive Relief is Appropriate

In most employment disputes, a court will only issue a temporary injunction after hearing from both sides and determining to its satisfaction that:

• Unlawful acts are being or will be committed unless the court intervenes
• Substantial and irreparable injury will follow
• Granting relief hurts the adverse party less than denying relief would hurt the petitioning party
• Other legal remedies (such as the award of money damages in the future) will be inadequate

The evidence in support of an employer’s request for injunctive relief must be objective and compelling. Once an employer discovers unlawful conduct, all reasonable measures should be taken to mitigate the risk of future harm and preserve any documentary evidence.

If an employee violates an injunction, he or she can be held in contempt of court. Penalties for civil contempt can include sanctions, fines, and even jail time.

Injunctions to Enforce Non-Compete Agreements

In addition to establishing the general requirements for issuing an injunction, when an employer seeks to enforce a non-compete agreement with a temporary injunction, the employer must show that the agreement itself is a reasonable limitation on an employee’s right to earn a living.

To determine the reasonableness of a non-compete agreement, courts generally look at five factors.

• Does the agreement protect a legitimate business interest of the employer?
• Is the duration of the restriction reasonable?
• Is the geographic area covered by the restriction reasonable?
• How does the restriction affect the employee’s ability to work in their field?
• Are the restrictions harmful to the public interest?

Connecticut courts tend to consider the duration and geographic area restrictions together. A longer duration may be reasonable if the geographic area is small. Conversely, if the geographic area is large, a longer duration may be overly restrictive.

The Connecticut Legislature has repeatedly tried to pass legislation that would limit the use of non-compete agreements. The most recent attempt, House Bill 7196, was introduced in March of 2025, but did not pass during the most recent legislative session.

Don’t Wait Until it’s Too Late, Wofsey Rosen Can Help Protect Your Business Now

As we begin the second quarter of the millennium, information is a more valuable business asset than ever. If sensitive or confidential business information falls into the hands or heads of competitors, the damage can be instant, severe, and lasting. Filing for injunctive relief is a way to ‘stop the bleeding’ until a legal decision can be rendered in court.

At Wofsey Rosen, our employment litigation lawyers understand that obtaining injunctive relief must happen quickly if vital business interests are to be protected.  Our attorneys support temporary injunction applications with credible facts and requests for relief that are appropriate and reasonable under all the circumstances of a particular case.  In this way, we maximize our client’s chances for successful outcomes.