Can Hydrodog require my employees to sign a non-disclosure and non-competition agreement?
Hydrodog Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
nfidential Information strictly confidential during and indefinitely after this Agreement's term;
- (c) Will not make unauthorized copies of any Confidential Information disclosed via electronic medium or in written or other tangible form; and
- (d) will adopt and implement all reasonable procedures that we periodically prescribe to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of Confidential Information, including, without limitation, restricting its disclosure to Franchised Business personnel and others needing to know such Confidential Information to operate your HydroDog Business, and requiring all employees and independent contractors having access to Confidential Information to sign confidentiality and non-competition agreements in a form acceptable to us. We have the right to regulate the form of confidentiality and non-competition agreement that you use and to be a third-party beneficiary of that agreement with independent enforcement rights.
You must disclose to us all ideas, techniques, services and products concerning the development and operation of your HydroDog Business that you or your employees conceive or develop during the term of this Agreement.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 33–34)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hydrodog's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Hydrodog can require your employees to sign confidentiality and non-competition agreements. Hydrodog has the right to regulate the form of the confidentiality and non-competition agreement that you use and can be a third-party beneficiary of that agreement with independent enforcement rights.
Hydrodog also requires that any General Manager and, if you are an entity, any officer sign Hydrodog's current "Confidentiality and Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition Agreement" as a condition of their employment or appointment. All of your employees, independent contractors, agents, or representatives who may have access to Hydrodog's confidential information must sign their standard confidentiality agreement, regardless of whether they have already signed a Confidentiality and Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition Agreement.
This means that as a Hydrodog franchisee, you must ensure that your employees and certain other personnel sign these agreements as a condition of their employment. Hydrodog retains control over the form and content of these agreements and has the right to enforce them directly. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as franchisors seek to protect their confidential information and prevent unfair competition.