[blindlaw] Non-compete... Binding Or Not?

[Rumpole]

Hi Richard:

The general answer would be for you to look up a Florida Attorney to give
you legal advice on that score - as if you haven't heard it enough already -
but there are a few rules of thumb for you to consider beyond that as a
basis of questions to ask the Flirida attorney.

For example - what are the intellectual property aspects of your past work
with  your current employer? How much of what you have done must remain
there and "untouchable" and for how long.
Next, ask the attorney what the courts in Florida have held on the
geographic limits to non-compete agreements of the industry that you are in.
By this I mean - will a non-compete signed in Florida be enforcable in
TExas, or Boston, or is it enforcable only up to the southeast region of the
U.S. - that sort of thing.
In General, Non-Compete's are not enforcable forever nor are they enforcable
absolutely everywhere in the country. They do Have Limits - but those limits
need to be determined by Florida Law, because that is where it was signed.
The bottom line is simply this - a non-compete cannot prevent you from
working in  your field when you leave your employer. It's limits will more
than likely be determined by the work that you do. Remember, they hired you
to do work for them, not to be their slave forever, although this is how
they would try to characterize it.
If y ou work in the computer industry as a research programer - then it may
very well be enforcable in a wider geographic range than if you worked in a
different industry - say accounting. In general - they don't want you to
open up a business or to go to work for their competition across the
street - so to that extent it is enforcable, but they cannot enforce it if
you move to Oregon to work in a different company.
I'd also ask the Florida attorney how much money you should ask your current
employer for if the non-compete is for some reason enforcable everywhere.
After all, what we're really talking about is their right to buy your right
to work. If they want to stop you from working anywhere else, they need to
give you money for it - you're an employee, not a piece of their
intellectual property.
 HOpe this helps.
Ross

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Wells" <richwels at myfreedombox.com>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 10:08 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Non-compete... Binding Or Not?


> Hello,
>
> I am in need of some legal advice. I find myself in a situation where I
> need a job, but I don't want my former employer scaring away potential
> new employers with threats of legal action. I need to find where the
> limits of the non-compete document I signed almost eight years ago are.
> This will not only help me to find suitable employment, but to also
> know what jobs I may need to rule out to avoid potential trouble.
>
> Would one or more of you be interested in reading over this document
> and letting me know where I stand? Am I locked out of the industry I
> have worked in for more than ten years? Are there areas where I can
> safely work without fear of retribution from my former employer toward
> my potential new employer or toward me?
>
> I should probably not post this document on the list, but only to those
> who directly express interest/willingness to look it over.
>
> Thanks for any an all help on this.
>
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