Re:The case for banning non-competes
by gumby on Friday July 16, 2021 @12:11PM
(#27857803)
Yeah, Junior devs are in the majority who don't have a symmetrical relationship with the employer. In California such a broad remit would not be enforceable.
FWIW court battles are rare. But better to get rid of the noncompetes regardless.
> > 2 - every such agreement I have signed has had a “carve out” clause: you can list things you’ve been working on (which is vague, I have listed areas I’m interested in and have looked into and counted that as ”work”) and exclude the stuff listed there from the agreement.
> Wait, are you sure that list works how you think it does?
Yes, that's the whole point of that list and the language is very clear.
FWIW I've mostly been the employer, not the employee and I always scrutinize those lists carefully (if someone writes anything there I have to approve it before the agreement can be signed). Not because I care what people do in their free time, but to see if there's anything there that could cause a disagreement, especially if it would be an innocent disagreement. And I have never seen anyone write something that seemed unreasonable there. TBH most people leave that blank.
These docs always go with the employment offer; if the employee doesn't see them until their first day what kind of negotiation is there then? The whole point is to have someone join us and be happy to work with us, not to take advantage of them.
FWIW court battles are rare. But better to get rid of the noncompetes regardless.
> > 2 - every such agreement I have signed has had a “carve out” clause: you can list things you’ve been working on (which is vague, I have listed areas I’m interested in and have looked into and counted that as ”work”) and exclude the stuff listed there from the agreement.
> Wait, are you sure that list works how you think it does?
Yes, that's the whole point of that list and the language is very clear.
FWIW I've mostly been the employer, not the employee and I always scrutinize those lists carefully (if someone writes anything there I have to approve it before the agreement can be signed). Not because I care what people do in their free time, but to see if there's anything there that could cause a disagreement, especially if it would be an innocent disagreement. And I have never seen anyone write something that seemed unreasonable there. TBH most people leave that blank.
These docs always go with the employment offer; if the employee doesn't see them until their first day what kind of negotiation is there then? The whole point is to have someone join us and be happy to work with us, not to take advantage of them.