Posted on 01/05/2023 8:12:25 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
Quote: “The whole concept of “proprietary information” is obsolete and has been for a couple decades now. Eventually the law is going to have to catch up to that reality, along with dozens of other laws that are completely unenforceable in the information age.”
Uh no, it hasn’t. Not even close. Parents and Trade Secrets?
No, it's not -- despite whatever some jackass claiming to be a civil rights crusader may have decided.
An employment contract is exactly that: a contract. If you are legally able to sign a contract, then that contract should be legally enforceable.
If you feel that some provision of your labor agreement is a violation of your civil rights, then don't sign it.
Going the way of the dodo, whether we like it or not, my friend.
“If you feel that some provision of your labor agreement is a violation of your civil rights, then don’t sign it.”
If some provision of your labor agreement is a violation of your civil rights, then it’s void even if you do sign it.
Quote: “Application of noncompete clauses, by virtue of the common law, have for years been struck down if they are not reasonable as to time, geography and scope.”
Yes, the problem being in order to get there you have to litigate it and few individuals want to risk having to spend moola to do it. So they play it safe and forgo the opportunity.
The real problem is the lack of clear standards as to what is “reasonable.” It is the most fluid issue I find advising on an litigating. Rather than banning if I would rather see some uniform standard around that.
Still, this should not be an issue for the FTC. Either Congress or the States should do the job. Heck, in California these are banned already.
My current employer asked for disclosures of IP developed prior to signing on that are excluded from any claims of production in a "work for hire" context. Much of what I've done in the last 31 years belongs to the government under a lifetime NDA. I have zero problem with that. The terms of engagement were agreed before the work was performed.
There are some things an IP agreement really can't harness. Prior experience solving a problem on another contract that speeds recognition and correction of the problem on a current contract is going to happen. That is especially true of development frameworks and operating systems. The same tool chains are in common use. The skill sets are similar. Some employees do it better than others.
There's a difference between something that IS a violation of your civil rights and something that YOU FEEL is a violation of your civil rights. If you don't like something in a contract for any reason, then don't sign the stupid contract.
Some of us go through this sort of thing all the time.
If you want to know why this country is running headlong into leftist totalitarianism, just look around this website and see how many so-called "conservatives" are perfectly comfortable having the government treat them like children.
Quote: “Going the way of the dodo, whether we like it or not, my friend.”
Nope, they aren’t. Not even close. And I have no idea what you base that statement on. Other than China stealing everything.
“Do we or do we not have a free market”
What is a ‘free market’?
An employee quitting a job and moving to another employer or an employee not being able to move to another employer?
1. It’s a state matter, not a federal matter
2. It opens the door to all sorts of opportunities for theft of intellectual property.
“And I have no idea what you base that statement on.”
It’s quite simple. If we lived in a world where everyone was walking around with a Star Trek-style replicator in their pocket, then any commodity that could be replicated would instantly become worthless, or have its value reduced to only the cost of operating the replicator.
And we do live in that world now, except our replicators can currently only duplicate information. They can’t duplicate every kind of information with perfect fidelity, so something like the Mona Lisa still has value, but any kind of digital or inherently low fidelity information is already basically worthless. Society in general and our laws in particular just haven’t caught up to that new reality yet.
“If you feel that some provision of your labor agreement is a violation of your civil rights, then don’t sign it.”
I’m not into the ‘civil rights’ argument.
But just saying ‘don’t sign it’ isn’t a realistic answer.
Take the health care profession. It is quite common across the country for physicians to sign non-compete agreements when joining a practice. Saying ‘don’t sign’ means no employment. Physicians have to sign.
What is a freer economy? Being able to change jobs as an employee so desires or a non-compete forcing an employee to stay in a job?
Exactly, this is a blatant Big Government anti Business move.
It is quite common across the country for physicians to sign non-compete agreements when joining a practice. Saying ‘don’t sign’ means no employment. Physicians have to sign.
I am not a physician, but I have been in this exact situation myself in the past. Is this physician you describe an employee or a partner in the practice?
In my case, I refused to sign the agreement because I didn't like the non-compete clause in it. I wasn't opposed to a non-compete provision, but the one in the agreement was too broad for my liking. So, guess what ... I convinced the owners of the firm to modify that clause in the contract. If they didn't do that, I wasn't going to join the company.
“There’s a difference between something that IS a violation of your civil rights and something that YOU FEEL is a violation of your civil rights.”
Sure, that’s for the courts, and the regulators to work out.
“If you don’t like something in a contract for any reason, then don’t sign the stupid contract.”
Well, in the real world, people sign contracts containing things they don’t like every day, for all kinds of reasons, and that’s not likely to change. In fact, I bet you have clicked through quite a few “terms of service” on websites that you don’t bother reading fully yourself. If not, then you’re more conscientious than 99% of the population.
This is nearly universal in the tech business.
Woodrow Wilson?
In 2009 my employer called me n the office and told me that I was being given the opportunity to find a new job after 18 years of loyal service. Effective immediately.
I was offered five months pay as a go away gift. All I had to do was sign a non-compete, thus rendering me unemployable in my field of expertise for a year.
When I found another job, the lawyers had to negotiate my release even though it was a very tenuous competition.
Yeah, sorry no.
A non-compete clause is an act of prior restraint. What I do after the employment agreement is ended is of no concern to my now former employer.
Too bad, so sad.
California got this one right when their courts decided that they will no longer enforce NCCs.
I think the proper balance would be that companies would have to pay employees a big sum (six figures—one time payment) as compensation for signing such an agreement.
That would make the companies put their money where their mouth is—if they want to shackle employees let them compensate the employees for keeping their secrets.
My guess is that lower paid employees (for the most part) would then be freed from these non-compete agreements.
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