I voluntarily left my position at an ESOP company (Company X) in 2013 after being fully vested, with $ 100,000+ ESOP account balance at the time of my departure. I was notified that my ESOP distributions would begin somewhere around the fifth year from my leaving Company X. Myself, along with a few others who left the company work for direct competitors of Company X. In early 2015, Company X put in a "Competitor" clause to their ESOP bylaws that states that it will void the ESOP benefits of any employee who leaves the company to work for a direct competitor. Company X has also sent letters to fully vested employees who left the company in 2013, stating that they will be disqualified from their ESOP distributions according to this new "Competitor" clause just put in place in the 2015 bylaws. Can a company modify their ESOP bylaws to avoid paying out ESOP distributions to employees who have already left the company to work for a direct competitor?
