Section 22 Deferred Compensation Forfeiture Agreements

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

Many employees are offered deferred compensation (either bonuses or retirement funds) that are part of a typical benefits plan. Some employers have provisions in those plans that benefits would be forfeited and terminated if the employee began competing against the employer. The type of agreement—profit-sharing, bonus plan, retirement plan, etc.—may ultimately play a role in how courts evaluate the agreement.

Missouri has addressed this issue in Caulfield v. George K. Baum & Co., 649 S.W.2d 456 (Mo. App...