Under Ohio Law, What is Impact of Merger on Employee No-Compete Contracts With 'Disappearing' Companies?

Does Employee 'Cease to Be Employed' by Company When It Is Merged Out of Existence?

1st District Court of Appeals (Hamilton County)

ISSUE: When an employee has a "no-compete" agreement with his employer binding for two years "following the termination of employment with the company for any reason," does a later merger of the employer with another company terminate the employment relationship between the employee and the original employer, and therefore start the running of the two-year no-compete period?