Pointless Announcements

Waking up over two hours before the alarm SUCKS

 

Me too. Best part of the game.

You'd think a made man would have more balls than that.

 

I LOVE sleeping with the windows open. First night it was really warm enough to do it, and I woke up happy.

 

So sometimes my professor actually is kind of awesome and gets me funny science shirts.

 

T-minus 3 weeks until a non-compete clause expiration. Or rather, they allow me to step out of it.

Lesson learned here?

Next time I see this clause, I'll have my attorney read it and counter it before I sign the shit. I'm heading to a different field but it is still enforceable to some extent of the consideration law. Only way I got out of this one is I agreed to be retained for some services if needed (post only and for a short list of clients) and waive one week of vacay pay. In writing? You bet your sweet ass it is.

assholes.

 

Mine ended up in Federal court. True story.

 

Dude.

I thought I was going to have to go through a massive battle as well. My attorney somehow managed to squeeze them in a way saying I wasn't compensated accordingly and some other trick and got them to amend the clause.


Did you beat it?
I can totally see you bein' all pimp in a Federal penitentiary

 

You don't go to jail for violating a noncompete. You get sued and have to pay damages or aren't able to work.

It ended up settling before going to trial, although we were loaded for bear. Most importantly, the judge refused to grant a temporary restraining order, which let me set up shop and keep going with business. It hurt for a bit, but we're definitely out from under the cloud.

 

If you don't pay those damages can't you receive time? I don't know jack about the civil arena (obviously)

At least you crawled out from under it and you're back on track. I think the only reason my current employer was stressing it so much was because there are a few high end clients who will only talk to me and avoid management and sales staff like the plague. I'm not sure why since I'm going back to long format. The only reason I can think of is they didn't want me freelancing and stealing their people.

 

You go to jail if you don't pay the damages only if you have the money and aren't paying as a "fuck you". It's really contempt of court, though.

 

Ahh.

So nothing, really.

 

They can garnish your wages or seize accounts if you're not paying up in what they deem a timely manner. It's serious business - no joke. And a TRO (temporary restraining order) can keep you on the sidelines for the duration if the judge decides against you.

I'd say it's about the polar opposite of "nothing".

 

I'd say contempt of court is minor and nothing. :shrug:

If the court deems the CNC to be broad and reaching then yes, they can certainly say the consideration law dictates that you aren't allowed to work etc. However, seeing as how execs move from M$ to Google to Yahoo etc etc, I'd say it's definitely a clause that can be defeated. Granted, I'm sure each state has their own statutes.

I'm not saying it isn't serious. I was pretty much flippin' out when I was threatened so I understand what you're saying.

 

Non-competes are unenforceable in certain venues, like California or Georgia. They're worthless there, but they have real teeth elsewhere. So when you cite the Google to Yahoo deal, it doesn't have anything to do with anything. Most of these things are decided in state court, and mine is notable because it ended up in Federal court, which was only because there were multiple states involved (and a few other reasons too).

You were right to flip out. If they enforce it where you are, you will be well and truly fucked as I read it. It's viewed as an employers state. The deck is stacked against you.

 

I have a very good friend who got caught up in something similar. A non-compete for one year with the company he left last summer. His new employer was aware of the situation but placed him in a non-competitive area/function. He was sued by the former employer. Eventually the suit was dropped (3 months before the clause would expire) but it cost a considerable amount in legal fees.

Usually there is no negotiation on these clauses, usually it is conditional for employment. After nearly three years of employment my employer now wants one. And it is conditional. Sign it if you want to keep your job, said in a 'nice' way. I will sign it but am discussing a clause in the event the company changes ownership, unlikely but it needs to be discussed.

 

Yes. My wife is an H.R. director for a large corp. and she says that a right to hire state is one where an employee is basically reduced to zero unless there is proof of a violation of the CRA1964 or OSHA and/or the employee can prove retaliation or if some employment law was violated in terms of contractual basis. She says most companies pay large sums in our state to ensure they have contract language in place that avoids any contractual disagreements and being it's a right to hire and fire state, most issues are skirted by the employer.

I don't even want to imagine what you went through and having it become a federal case. I'm just glad you came out from it without having to go through a TRO or worse.

Craven Morehead - that sucks man. They'll get you one way or the other it seems. Sad, but that's the price of business these days.

I had mine amended but I still have to play their game when they decide to pull the strings. This time though, there is a final termination in the clause that allows me to become free of them after a predetermined time frame.

 

Glory's Sun It doesn't suck as much as it would if I were 20 years younger, but at 60 this job is highly likely to be my last. At least I hope, however if conditions change radically as they might if the practice is sold, then who knows. I need to have control of that situation. I really expected a non-compete when I took this job. Never came up and I never mentioned it.

 

Sex and music are the two biggest stress relievers.

 

IDK, I vote exercise as a huge stress reliever.. and I just put 25 miles on my road bike in nearly 80 degree F weather with plenty of sun, so I'm a super happy camper right now.