Several of the U.S.'s largest technology companies are in advanced talks with the Justice Department anti-trust division to avoid a court battle over whether they colluded to hold down wages by agreeing not to poach each other's employees.
Thomas Catan has details.
Thomas Catan has details.
The companies include Google Inc., Apple Inc., Intel Corp., Adobe Systems Inc., Intuit Inc. and Walt Disney Co. unit Pixar Animation. All are in the final stages of negotiations with the government. If the government were to sue and win, these companies would be open to employee lawsuits.
The majority of U.S. states recognize and enforce various forms of non-compete agreements. In California, these agreements are illegal except when an employer sells his company.
In Florida, the enforceability of non-compete agreements is quite common.
Some law firms build their law practice around these agreements and represent employees, employers and potential new employers of an employee currently bound by a non-compete agreement.
The agreement is not allowed to be overly broad and generally difficult to enforce if it is for more than two years.
Wirehead, our technical editor, signed one of these agreements as a tech school instructor and he was not allowed to teach at another college or school within 50 miles of the hiring school.
Fortunately for him, the employer broke the contract when it tried to assign extra teaching classes without extra pay. Wirehead quit and never looked back.
Also if the agreement is part of a general employment contract, then there is the possibility of a Pre-Breach by an employer. This may cause the non-compete clause of the contract to become unenforceable.
These non-compete agreements makes sense if an an employee takes a sales postion or a key and high paying position in which the employee has access to inside corporate information.
In most cases it makes absolutely no sense for for anyone to sign one of these agreements with small business. If a small business person asks you to sign one of these agreements, check with an attorney first and also find out more about the company.
Talk to people who have the same job and find out how long they have worked there. If nobody has been there more than two years, run!
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440604575496182527552678.html#ixzz1062q5rsa
Some law firms build their law practice around these agreements and represent employees, employers and potential new employers of an employee currently bound by a non-compete agreement.
The agreement is not allowed to be overly broad and generally difficult to enforce if it is for more than two years.
Wirehead, our technical editor, signed one of these agreements as a tech school instructor and he was not allowed to teach at another college or school within 50 miles of the hiring school.
Fortunately for him, the employer broke the contract when it tried to assign extra teaching classes without extra pay. Wirehead quit and never looked back.
Also if the agreement is part of a general employment contract, then there is the possibility of a Pre-Breach by an employer. This may cause the non-compete clause of the contract to become unenforceable.
These non-compete agreements makes sense if an an employee takes a sales postion or a key and high paying position in which the employee has access to inside corporate information.
In most cases it makes absolutely no sense for for anyone to sign one of these agreements with small business. If a small business person asks you to sign one of these agreements, check with an attorney first and also find out more about the company.
Talk to people who have the same job and find out how long they have worked there. If nobody has been there more than two years, run!
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440604575496182527552678.html#ixzz1062q5rsa
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