non-compete agreement

My company is asking me to sign a non-compete agreement now, after working here for 5 years. they are asking everyone to sign one.

is anyone familiar with non-compete? do I HAVE to sign it if they ask me to?

it states that I cannot work in the same field (competitive field) for 1 year if I leave or an dismissed?

I do NOT want to sign this. Any ideas?

Re: non-compete agreement

are they legal in NY? I remember looking this up for my DH and remember they were not binding in NY.

Re: non-compete agreement

I don;t think they stand up in court in NY but I would have to go back and research it......havent seen one in a long time.

I do know that in NY the non compete can't be so restrictive that you are not able to work in your field.

I would have an atty reveiw it before signing it.

Re: non-compete agreement

thanks, they are asking everyone to sign it before noon tomorrow ... granted, it was sent via email on friday of last week.

i will have to try to have a friend review it tonight. thanks!

Re: non-compete agreement

this is the clause that I question

"I agree I will not, for a period of one year after my employment terminates for any reason, work for (as an owner, employee, consultant, contractor, agent or representative) any competitor of NAME OF COMP in the territory or territories that I am now, or have been, responsible for any time during the last year of my employment with NAME OF COMP. Competitors shall be deemed any persons or entities that now, or in the future, sell, or intend to sell energy based surgical or aesthetic products or other products that directly compete with products that I sold while employed by NAME OF COMP."

Re: non-compete agreement

i'm a lawyer and i do these all the time... they are binding in new york as long as they aren't overly restrictive in scope. if its a condition to continuing your existing employment, its may also be enforceable (some states require additional compensation if you're already working).

eta: FM me if you want me to elaborate...

Message edited 10/20/2011 4:01:45 PM.

Re: non-compete agreement

Message edited 10/20/2011 4:03:13 PM.

Re: non-compete agreement

We have non-competes in our office. This is pretty much the same thing our attorney says regarding them:

Re: non-compete agreement

I agree with cityiwife that it is not cut and dried as to whether they are binding in NY. Law is all gray areas! Yes, it can be tough to enforce them.

My husband had one and we later had to consult an attorney friend of mine when he needed/wanted to get out of it. It was a huge mess because the company hiring him did business with his old company and THEIR contract also had the equivalent of a no-compete agreement.

I BEGGED my husband not to sign it in the first place. As an attorney, my attitude is that if you can prevent a legal headache you do it. Even if you feel that it will never be enforceable, why put yourself in a situation to possibily have to go to court to find out specifically whether your agreement will be upheld? Attorneys who litigate these issues do not come cheap and I do not think it would ever be done on a contingency fee.

The only reason my husband signed the agreement was because he felt that the company would find a way to drop him if he did not. He did not have another job lined up and he never would have expected the job that he got later.

We were very lucky that he did get out of it when he found the job he is in how. But that required a lawyer for him, a lawyer for the new company and in the end, the new company bought him out from the old company by giving the old company money to settle (they "bought" my husband!!!!). From my point of view all I see is that money changed hands but we did not see a dime of it. I still feel that his new salary might have been higher if that was not necessary. He got a nice raise for making the move but I still wonder.

The agreement stated that the laws of the state where the company was incorporated governed. If we went further we may have needed an attorney who was admitted to practice there, and it is a state where such agreements are easier to enforce. They know that when they draft these agreements. We may have been able to fight to keep it in NY but that was all questionable. I was very lucky to have a friend who was ready to help when my husband wanted to get out of the non-compete. Everyone needed to know very quickly whether the companies could settle this.

Re: non-compete agreement

I've signed them, but it does not state that I cannot work in my field, but rather that I cannot use any knowledge of any client to further my business at any future company that employs me. Usually there is no overlap in such a way, and even if I had a client that was shared, I would just ask for a different CSR so that I could continue to conduct business as needed.

Re: non-compete agreement

thanks for the information everyone

Re: non-compete agreement

Re: non-compete agreement

I know so many people who have signed them but never heard of them being enforced... until it almost happened to me.

I signed a non-compete at my last job (full time). I resigned, was a stay at home mom for a bit, and then was offered a p/t job a few months later from a "competitor". I put that in quotes because at the time it wasn't a competitor but would become one with the addition of Me. I was threatened with the non-compete agreement from HR of my previous company. I ended up needing a lawyer to go over the agreement, go through the threatening emails, and help me with reponses. Once I had the lawyer it was so much easier to proceed and I ended up being able to take the job. Good luck!

Re: non-compete agreement

thanks everyone. i signed it. i was basically told that if I didnt, there would be ramifications and that "everyone was signing it so i should too".

god forbid but if i end up in court one day, i was pressured into it. i was fearful that i would loose my job and told that every employee was signing it. what else can i do?

Re: non-compete agreement

Posted by timefortwo

thanks everyone. i signed it. i was basically told that if I didnt, there would be ramifications and that "everyone was signing it so i should too".

god forbid but if i end up in court one day, i was pressured into it. i was fearful that i would loose my job and told that every employee was signing it. what else can i do?

Re: non-compete agreement

Posted by bdmom

Posted by timefortwo

thanks everyone. i signed it. i was basically told that if I didnt, there would be ramifications and that "everyone was signing it so i should too".

god forbid but if i end up in court one day, i was pressured into it. i was fearful that i would loose my job and told that every employee was signing it. what else can i do?

Did it say anything about remuneration should they decide to enforce it? Mine had two levels of compensation if they denied my other work offer for competitive reasons: one option was if we knew what my new salary/bonus would be and they'd pay me that rate plus ~30% for benefits and the other option was if they couldn't calculate/predict what the compensation was then they needed to pay me my last base pay (from the year I left their company) plus ~30% for benefits.

When I left and went to work on my own, they tried to enforce it, but once I contacted a lawyer and asked for compensation to turn down "competitive" clients, they changed their tune and allowed me to do almost whatever I wanted.

Also, keep a copy in a safe place -- I remember needing to ask for another copy and they were reluctant to give it to me -- Good luck --

Message edited 10/25/2011 4:56:19 PM.

Re: non-compete agreement

I thought when signing a non compete after working somewhere you were supposed to be given consideration ( financially or benefits, etc) in exchange for signing.

When you just start a job you sign in eturn for said job. Web already employed, what is the benefit? I would double check.