Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
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Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#2Since this should be illegal, or at least illegal absent some reasonable compensation for giving up the right to freely seek alternative employment (e.g. a big retention bonus), presumably our politicians offering "regulatory relief" are to blame?
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#3"California law prohibits noncompete clauses, contributing to the inveterate poaching with which the state’s technology industry was founded. It can be brutal for employers, but it helps raise wages and has created a situation where any company looking to hire a bunch of engineers in a hurry, be it an established giant or a start-up, feels it should locate there."
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#4Since this should be illegal, or at least illegal absent some reasonable compensation for giving up the right to freely seek alternative employment (e.g. a big retention bonus), presumably our politicians offering "regulatory relief" are to blame?
There are plenty of Republicans who are against this type of mercantilist behavior.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#5The really annoying thing about noncompetes is that they're usually at the discretion of the employer. You might be in a situation where you have a 12 month noncompete and nobody wants to hire you 12 months in advance, but then your former employer terminates your noncompete within a month and stops paying you.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#6The really annoying thing about noncompetes is that they're usually at the discretion of the employer. You might be in a situation where you have a 12 month noncompete and nobody wants to hire you 12 months in advance, but then your former employer terminates your noncompete within a month and stops paying you.
If they terminated the noncompete, that's excellent!
I'm thinking you've made a typo. ;-)
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#7Since this should be illegal, or at least illegal absent some reasonable compensation for giving up the right to freely seek alternative employment (e.g. a big retention bonus), presumably our politicians offering "regulatory relief" are to blame?
There are plenty of Republicans who are against this type of mercantilist behavior.
there are republicans who arent? they are suppose to defend free market
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#8Using "poaching" to describe a company hiring someone from another company, needs to die. Companies do not own people. It is strictly a business relationship.
I think that the US as a whole should follow California in outlawing non-competes. It definitely has been shown to be workable.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#9Worth remembering, especially for those just entering the software field: by the time a potential employer gives you an employment agreement to sign, they've already decided they want you. At that point, it's on them to give you a palatable offer. They may include a noncompete clause for one of two reasons: 1) to prevent you from working somewhere else at the same time, which can create all sorts of conflicts of interest, or 2) because it'll keep you from looking for a new job, and they think you're too naive to argue.
Here's my suggestion. When you receive the document, read it and see if there's a noncompete clause. If so, you're going to want to send a redlined version back to them, changing the noncompete duration from "during and for 2 years following employment at the company" (or whatever they gave you) to "for the duration of employment at the company." By doing so, you show your willingness not to do any kind of work for a competitor while employed, while very clearly pointing out that you do have the right to get a new job. It may be important not to offend the person who wrote up the agreement and included something so ridiculous, so the minor nature of your modification will allow them to save face.
In the end, most employers won't bother to argue the second point, and the ones that do are probably shadily taking advantage of you in other ways.
Additional note: in California and several other states, these clauses are not legally enforceable anyway, and you should mention that when you give them the "fixed" agreement.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#10Since this should be illegal, or at least illegal absent some reasonable compensation for giving up the right to freely seek alternative employment (e.g. a big retention bonus), presumably our politicians offering "regulatory relief" are to blame?
If the employee was terminated the non-compete should be terminated as well.