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

[Richard Wells]

I was told by my employer that this was not a compensated non-compete 
agreement. I also did not receive a years of service severence package 
when I was let go.

Thanks
Original message:
> It is difficult for a former employer to enforce a non-compete agreement for
> more than  one year.  I've heard of organizations who won't provide a
> severance package until the employee signs a non-compete agreement.  You are
> let go, however, you don't get the severence package until you sign on the
> dotted line.
> Steve
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tim Elder" <tim at timeldermusic.com>
> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 10:48 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Non-compete... Binding Or Not?


>> I'm just a first year law student and my advice shouldn't be taken without
>> extreme scrutiny and professional legal consultation That being said I'd
>> love to share a few ideas for you to think about that I've been looking at
>> in my contracts studies:
>> First, I'm not sure you should be afraid of your non compete contract
>> having
>> any weight on potential new employers who might want to hire you. You're
>> the
>> one who signed the contract and I can't really see a situation where
>> you're
>> new employer should be afraid of your old employer suing them. If you
>> break
>> the contract then your old employer is going to come after you before they
>> can do anything to your new employer. I can't imagine why your new
>> employer
>> should be hesitant to hire you unless you put them on notice about the non
>> compete agreement or something like that. I suppose your new employer
>> could
>> be sued if you brought over a bunch of trade secrets and your new company
>> started making profits based on an application of those secrets but I
>> suppose that would be unlikely unless you are a very specialized technical
>> designer or someone intimately familiar with the proprietary information
>> of
>> your old employer. Even then you might need to intentionally use those
>> proprietary secrets at the new employer.
>> In general non compete agreements are only enforceable if they are
>> reasonable with regard to  the amount of time you are bound, the
>> geographical area you are limited from competing in and the specificity of
>> activities you are limited from doing.  If your non compete contract seems
>> unreasonable on any of these three levels it might not be enforceable. One
>> important fact to know would be if you signed the non compete agreement
>> before or after you started working at the old company. Another important
>> fact would be the reasons why you are no longer working at the company. If
>> you were fired or laid off after a very short period of time it might be
>> hard for your past employer to enforce the contract.
>> This advice is extremely general and might variate slightly depending on
>> what state you live in. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to apply why
>> contracts law concepts to a real world situation. Hopefully everything
>> works
>> out for you.
>> best regards,
>> Tim Elder
>> U.C. Hastings law student


>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Richard Wells
>> Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 7:09 PM
>> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> 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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