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U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

nytimes.com

211–220 of 514 posts

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#211
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'm saying that my dad gave me this exact lecture in 2009 but in reverse—he said that the problem with the right is that they play nice while the liberals will do anything it takes to take power and accomplish their goals. Literally the exact same thing that you're saying but in reverse. I think what it actually is is that there are factions within each group who match your description and it is hard to see the f…

I know it will sound like a slight to your dad, but in 2009 many conservative news outlets were pushing this narrative extremely heavily. And, I don't recall any actual evidence to back it up. It was more a weaponized accusation, much as marital infidelity was in the mid/late 90s. Worse, by all evidence since then, the record seems to be far more in the opposite direction. :(

No offense taken: I strongly disagree with my dad on politics, and a big part of the reason why is because of just how bad the conservative media was in those years.

Also, even he was appalled by the turn the Republican party took with Trump. I doubt he would argue the same today. He's a diehard believer in constitutional law, and he projected his ideals onto people who didn't actually hold them.

That said, I do believe the same tendency occurs on the liberal side. It's easy to notice when your opponent cheats, it's much harder to see it when a teammate does.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#212
post #179

As the saying goes, California is the United States... just 30 years in the future. (Note that often this is a good pattern, but not always!)

If thats true the rest of the US is going to be on fire, have an abundance of homeless, and high speed rail still won't happen.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#213
Happy to see this. Unfortunately, the business community has completely abused these, with companies like Jimmy Johns requiring its minimum-wage employees to sign non-competes.

My state sued them over it and won: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jimmyjohns-settlement/jim...

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#215

Would prefer this came from Congress rather than the FTC, because I can see at least two different ways this could get sunk from the FTC: 1) The process gets stalled from rollout until 2024, at which point a Republican comes into power, appoints new FTC head, and they roll it back. 2) Companies sue, and SCOTUS rules that this exceeds FTC authority. But I'll freely concede that there is no way such a bill would ever m…

Such a bill could make it through a Democratic Congress with a large enough Senate majority. Unfortunately we don’t have that right now.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#216

I understand noncompetes in some fields... but this can be solved in other ways. In my country (slovenia), a noncopete is valid only if you're being financially compensated by some amount while the noncompete lasts. It's a bit complicated here, but ideally companies wanting noncompetes could be forced to pay the difference between what the worker would've earned if they stayed (+ some safety factor for a potential ra…

I don't understand them in any field. I was forced into signing one for tech that blocks me from working from any competitor for up to 2 years. Depending on how loosely you define competitors that could mean I can't work in tech for 2 years after this job. Unfortunately for me I can't afford a lawyer. Fortunately for me non-competes of this level are generally unenforceable. You have NDAs already. It's not like you'r…

you're not automatically entitled to use or benefit from the IP developed by others and then disclosed to you just because you signed a paper that promises to pay you for work. maybe it makes more sense where your opponent is a horrible but huge company like facebook but this move can kill development of sensitive or novel tech by underfunded entrepreneurs. it is a mistake for the USA. maybe you guys should downvote me more while you ride around in your teslas powered by slave labor batteries.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#217

Non-Competes being legal is only acceptable I think if the worker will continued being paid for the period of the non-compete. I can see reasons that non-competes exist, but those reasons don't really make sense in a world where patents and trademarks also exist. The fact that they are essentially illegal in California, and California's economy works shows that they are unnecessary and also don't hinder technological…

> The fact that they are essentially illegal in California, and California's economy works shows that they are unnecessary and also don't hinder technological development.

That's no argument. Parasites work as organism taxon, doesn't mean all life can become so.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#218

Non competes are often necessary in the most interesting jobs. A few years ago I took a job at a hedge fund with a 2 year noncompete. I took a calculated risk doing so. In the 2 years I worked in the fund, I learned a tremendous amount thanks to being exposed to the "secret sauce" which would have been really damaging for me to take to a competitor. After I left the fund, I took the 2 year non-compete (ie: don't work…

After you took the FAANG job did you still receive money for the non-compete?

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#219
post #150

I understand noncompetes in some fields... but this can be solved in other ways. In my country (slovenia), a noncopete is valid only if you're being financially compensated by some amount while the noncompete lasts. It's a bit complicated here, but ideally companies wanting noncompetes could be forced to pay the difference between what the worker would've earned if they stayed (+ some safety factor for a potential ra…

> a noncopete is valid only if you're being financially compensated by some amount while the noncompete lasts. And this is about the only way they hold up in court, otherwise the non-compete would be a one-sided contract. IANAL, but I was once sued by a former employer over a non-compete (an entry level IT job). The judge basically swept the floor with it. Also, it made me understand why severance packages exist, it…

The only time I've ever heard of a noncompete being enforced was when an IT worker bid against his employer on a contract renewal he was working on, and won. His newly former employer had sued him and won, and made him unhappy for a long time via the courts. Some things like noncompetes really exist for the worst case scenario, but is threatened in all cases.

Re: U.S. moves to bar noncompete agreements in labor contracts

#220

Non-Competes being legal is only acceptable I think if the worker will continued being paid for the period of the non-compete. I can see reasons that non-competes exist, but those reasons don't really make sense in a world where patents and trademarks also exist. The fact that they are essentially illegal in California, and California's economy works shows that they are unnecessary and also don't hinder technological…

> The fact that they are essentially illegal in California, and California's economy works shows that they are unnecessary and also don't hinder technological development. That's no argument. Parasites work as organism taxon, doesn't mean all life can become so.

Analogies are not arguments.

An example of an economy outputting businesses at the highest levels of performance while barring non competes is an argument.

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