[Laneco]

Rick,

Go to HR and get a copy of your non-compete clause. Have legal counsel review it with you. Non-competes vary from well written and quite binding to being useful only to line the bottom of the bird cage.

Non-compete clauses vary sharply depending on your location. Some states flat out forbid them, most states structure them with care. In the latter case, they are "generally" required to be signed BEFORE you are hired, often as much as two weeks to allow you to have legal counsel review them. They are often invalid if they are signed after you've been hired (hey, what choice did you have then)? Some states allow them to fail based on a single item and other states allow a "pencilling" effect for failed items. In the former, one thing done wrong negates the employer's entire ability to enforce the non-compete. In the latter, the employer may do something wrong and only part of the non-compete will be valid.

Also, they are, again generally, only valid when they put a restriction on the time or the location of your non-compete. For example, they specifically say you may not contact a current customer for 5 years, or anyone within a certain geographical area.

Those who have brought specific skills TO the job are always in a stronger position with a non-compete. The deeper you move into the intellectual propety arena, the more specifically that the non-competes/non-disclosures must be written. After all, they were making a living with that skill set prior to employment and it is reasonable they will make a living after the current employment doing the same work. An example of this is my hazardous materials training. I was brought into my prior work place because of this training. I gained no other training in this area from the previous employer, having brought the entire skill set with me. When I left, they threatened me with a non-compete agreement (that was signed AFTER I was working for them and had quit my former job). I told them that the contract was invalid the day they had me sign it. They reviewed it and found out I was right.

They cannot take from you your ability to make a living. But when written properly, they can and do restrict for whom, where and for what period of time you may not compete. They can collect advances, certain types of compensation, moving costs, etc., if written properly.

Again Rick, please have legal counsel review. Many of these are nothing but a silly intimidation tactic, but just in case your's is legit...

angela