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non compete employment agreement are not viewed very favorably in California.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/08/california-supreme-c-1.html

http://www.workforce.com/section/03/feature/25/82/12/index.html

http://www.employlaw.com/noncompete.htm

The non-compete part really stinks. Not sure what state you are in but here in california those types of aggreements are really hard to enforce. http://www.employlaw.com/noncompete.htm/

thank you for posting that - I had no idea that 'right to work' was interpreted as a union concept! quite an eye opener, thanks.

this is actually what I was referring to, perhaps using sloppy language:


  Employees and budding entrepreneurs argue that Business & Professions Code Section 16600 is quite simple and means what it says: California law voids any provision, contract term or purported "agreement" that prevents them from working for a competitor or to work for him or herself. In other words, restrictions on an employee's right to work for a competitor or to operate a competing business are illegal and cannot be enforced.


link: http://www.employlaw.com/noncompete.htm

The surprising thing to me is that Google is countersuing in California instead of removing to Federal court.

Here's more info on California's non-compete legislation.

</karmawhoring>

He observes that courts are more likely to apply inevitable disclosure, or enforce a non-compete agreement, if the former employee takes a position that's is similar to his or her previous job, particularly if the position pays considerably more than the old one even though the responsibilities are not very different.

"If an employee leaves company A where she was northeast regional sales manager and goes to company B as a regional sales manager in the southwest, a court might say she's not subject to a non-compete covenant or the inevitable disclosure doctrine," says Wells. "She might also be safe if she works for a company that's in a different kind of business. But if she's in a similar line of work the court may be suspicious."

He said concerns over that kind of outcome probably fueled a recent decision by Redmond, Washington-based Crossgain Corp. to ax about 25 percent of its employees, including the start-up's two founders and chief executive officer, in response to pressure from Microsoft. Crossgain develops Internet-based standards and tools for software developers and, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, the terminated individuals were all ex-Microsoft employees who had previously signed non-compete agreements with the Redmond-based giant.

It looks like that is how it works in California. It's illegal (in California) for a company to enforce a non-compete agreement. But because of issues with the priority of various laws, a company can claim there are trade secret issues and that it is assumed that working for a competitor means you would reveal those secrets. It appears to be legal (and common) for companys to prevent you from working out of trade secret concerns.

Ethically I agree, people should not be forced into unemployement because of a corporation's paranoia. I like to think a vast majority of employees are professional and comply with reasonable NDAs. The only other reason is because competitors just want to screw one another and the employee isn't even the issue. He's just a pawn that can be used to attack another company.

I recommend this very good article that has been written on this exact topic. It cleared up a lot of things for me. It also makes me suspect that I already need a lawyer because I have signed these non-compete agreements before, and I've been in the same industry for the past few jobs.

I never had access to trade secrets at the most evil of the places I've worked at, but who knows. They might just try to use me for a scapegoat or something.

In other states (on the east coast and midwest for example). The non-compete clauses are standard boiler plate that is part of any company's contract. And in a majority of states they are quite legal and readily enforced. California has the most unusual laws when you compare it to other states in the union.

Actually, this is a fairly contentious area of the law, and countless suits and counter-suits are filed over noncompete agreements in California every year. The law about stealing trade secrets is, on the other hand, quite clear, and often times people choose to honor noncompetes just for the sake of avoiding being slapped with a civil suit alleging theft of [clients, information, employees, etc.] Leaving one company to go immediately to its direct competitor usually looks pretty suspect.

Do they have a no-compete clause in his contract? If not, they're going to lose, as that's standard practice in cases like this.

And even if they do, its not clear what the legal standing of non-compete clauses is. It is state law that regulates the legality of non-compete clauses. For example here's a good page discussing the confusing situation in California.

If you signed the non-compete out of CA, or if the company that you joined is based outside of California, the non-compete *may* be enforceable. From this web site:

Are you an employee considering leaving the company, or an ex-employee who has resigned or been fired? Did you sign a noncompete agreement while working in another state?

Did your employer have you sign any form of an employment, noncompete, nonsolicitation and/or nondisclosure agreement? Were you forced to sign it? Were you fired for not signing the agreement, or for protesting about it?

Does your employer appear "headquartered" out-of-state, or have you signed any employer document indicating the law of a state other than California applies to interpretation or enforcement of the document you signed?

Did you sell your business or interest [e.g., stock] in a company and execute a noncompete agreement as part of the transaction?

Has the employer or its lawyers threatened you with legal action for violating a noncompete?

If your answer is YES to any or all of these questions, you should IMMEDIATELY seek the advice of competent counsel experienced in noncompete battles. Even if you have not yet been threatened with legal action, talk to a lawyer so to determine your rights. Remember, the employer had lawyers prepare the noncompete agreement you signed, so you should have a lawyer too.