Читать книгу Non-Compete Agreements: An Employee Perspective - Ron Hummer - Страница 5

Things were not getting any better at my job and I had questions for that lawyer that I hired. The answers were the same. There was nothing I could do and I would have to apply for the jobs outside my industry. Days later, I received another bill from the lawyer for $200.00. That’s nearly $1,000.00 in legal fees now.

It’s always easy to say just get a second opinion but of course, that’s another $350.00. Fortunately, I did manage to find another employment lawyer who understood my situation and said that he would review my contract at no charge. So I took the day off from work and went down to his office to see him with my wife and we spent the weekend up at that state.

This lawyer seemed like a good one. He said that he had a guru - a woman who was an expert on this - who was good in court on fighting this. In any case, we arrived and went into the conference room.

My wife and I sat there while he read over the non-compete agreement, nodding his head. Then the woman came out. She was an African American woman with short dark hair. He put the contract down on the table as the woman sat down. She read the contract over as well. In any case, his words were very powerful.

“Mr. Hummer, companies like yours have an attitude that they’re doing you a favor by giving you a job because they can fire you at any time for any reason and they don’t have to give you anything. Not even a severance package. Your job is the only reward that you receive for this contract.

“The reason the contract is for two years is because you will lose knowledge and can’t get back into the industry, thus destroying your career. That’s why this is a career killer.

“it’s like a form letter that lawyers fill out. They’re always the same and that’s why they’re iron-clad.

“You can fight this if you’re fired but the legal fees can be over $10,000 and there is a very good chance that you will lose because you signed the non-compete agreement.”

“This should be illegal but it’s not illegal. It’s up to the government to do something about this. As long as the government does nothing, then this will continue.”

The conversation turned to blaming me for not seeing a lawyer before signing this agreement. What good would it have done? I know that companies in my industry have non-compete agreements like mine. The only answer I got from that was that I can pick my job where I could work. Of course, that is far from the truth since other companies will only hire me based on an interview and if they have an opening. It’s not like I can snap my fingers and get an interview with a company just because they’re a competitor or in my industry.

In an article in Fortune magazine in August 2013, it stated that you can try and negotiate your non-compete agreement but it isn’t likely that the company will allow any changes. All you can do is sign it or ignore it and see if your employer decides to fire you. That’s the most realistic answer to this question and a lawyer in the article backed this up. You will see that this will come up again later in the book.

The lawyer said he could have recommended changes but when asked if the company would accept them, he said not necessarily. Sure, I don’t have any power to negotiate this. The company can do whatever they want. Let’s say I try. They could just say no, sign it or be fired. I could try and get an interview with another company in my industry if they have a job opening but they’ll expect me to sign a non-compete agreement as well.

It didn’t matter that I signed the agreement under duress. It will stand up in court. It doesn’t matter that everyone didn’t sign the agreement since that would be discrimination. It will stand up in court.

Of course, I had the option of fighting this in court if I was fired but that would cost me over $10,000. I could still lose because I signed the non-compete agreement. A judge would not just throw it out of court since they follow the laws of the state. This will come up again later on in the book.

The contract also states that my company can also sue the employer for any lost business. In addition, they can take out an injunction that would stop me for working for that employer. As far as a severance package is concerned, even if I received one, I would not be able to use it towards my legal fees since they can sue me for that money as well.

As far as the laws are concerned, all the non-compete lawyer needs is a legal argument. It doesn’t matter how weak it may be. As long as it’s an argument, he or she can drag me into court.

The answers were grim and I was told that I would just have to look for a job in another industry. There are jobs online. Doesn’t matter that I’m not qualified for those jobs. If I have to take a job selling used cars, then that’s what I’ll have to do if I’m fired. My company has rights and I supposedly have trade secrets. If I don’t like it, then I can go to court and spend $10,000.

My wife and I walked out of the office feeling worse than ever.