The “Great Resignation” is generating a surge in restrictive covenant litigation across the United States as workers quit their jobs to take better-paying openings with competitors, often despite noncompete agreements, and use their phones or computers, intentionally or not, to take confidential information on their way out the door.

This trend and recent litigation offer lessons on how to keep “clean hands” in such a separation and how to avoid being on the losing end of an emergency, high-stakes lawsuit.