Consider the following fact pattern: In 2006, Acme Sandwich Company hired Jane Doe to make sandwiches at one of its shops in Roseland, New Jersey. At that time, Acme required Jane to sign an employment agreement that contained a restrictive covenant stating that if Jane ever leaves her employment, she cannot work for a competing company within 20 miles of Roseland for a period of one year. Jane was an excellent employee. Five years later, Acme promoted her to regional manager, and five years after that in 2016, to vice president of sandwich innovation. Acme did not ask her to sign a new employment agreement in connection with either promotion. By 2021, Jane felt that she accomplished all she could at Acme and accepted employment with the Wonka Sandwich Company in Newark, New Jersey, as its director of marketing. Acme got wind of her hire and sued Jane in the Chancery Division to enforce the restrictive covenant in her 2006 employment agreement.
