Appellate Court Invalidates No-Hire Provision Between Trucking Companies
An en banc Pennsylvania Superior Court panel, after rehearing an argument in a case of first impression, has once again invalidated a no-hire provision in the case of trucking company employees seeking jobs with a competitor.
The panel voted 7-2 to affirm a Beaver County Court of Common Pleas decision upholding a nonsolicitation provision in the contract between Pittsburgh Logistics Systems and Beemac Trucking, but denying enforcement of a no-hire provision. Last March, a split three-judge panel ruled the same way.
Judge Paula Francisco Ott, writing for the majority en banc as she did for the three-judge panel, said the court was correct to deny a preliminary injunction regarding the no-hire provision.
“The trial court determined the no-hire provision would violate public policy by preventing persons from seeking employment with certain companies without receiving additional consideration for the prohibition, or even necessarily having any input regarding or knowledge of the restrictive provision,” Ott said. “Additionally, the trial court reasoned the no-hire provision was overly broad in that the enforceable no-solicitation provision between PLS and Beemac sufficiently protected PLS from the loss of its clients, which was the ultimate purpose of all the relevant restrictions. Based upon the nature and limitations of our review, we agree with the trial court.”
Reference: P.J. D’Annunzio, Of the Law Weekly, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 42 PLW 667, Tuesday, January 22, 2019
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