FTC bans non-competes: a business owner's thoughts

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[spudgamer]

You do point out the one real concern companies legit have with non competes- stealing employees that a company has trained, as the cononay doing the stealing can afford to pay more because they dont have to pay someone to train the employee. *shrug* probably not enough of a concern to keep non competes, though.

There still needs to be rules regarding IP, client and supplier lists, etc, of course, but that isnt the same thing as non competes.

Also, obligatory complaint about an unelected bureaucracy being able to, in effect, create legislation.

[dschult]

My wife was threatened with a lawsuit when she got another job, and her noncompete clause said she couldn't work 7 miles from the first job. The map said it was 7.1 miles from her former employer. Their lawyer claimed it was 6.8. We lawyered up, and they did nothing with it. Non-compete clauses are nothing but ammo for vindictive former employers.

[HelmutDoork]

The non compete my friend was forced to sign prevented him from opening up his own business in the field until at least a year had passed after he left the company he worked for. Not even being able to work for another company in the same business is even worse. The same company had forced arbitration as well.
Banning non-competes is very good news indeed. They should ban forced arbitration next.

[JDubzDrumz]

I worked at a pizza place (super toxic and abusive managers) one of the chefs saved his money for two years and opened a pizza place that was not even remotely similar one town over. The place i work sued him and used the non compete we had to sign to win. Well the judge ruled in the places i worked favor, and in their non compete it stated; we'd have to cover legal fees, emotional damages etc etc etc... Poor dude lost his life savings just because he opened a pizza place. 🤦 The managers kept bragging about how they ruined the dudes life. 🤦 was so glad when i quit.

[joeMW]

I was scrolling through a Fox News comment section on an article about this. The sympathy some people have for faceless corporations never ceases to amaze me.

[ptrinch]

I had a company put a 1 year non compete clause on my offer. I asked them to either remove it, or add a parallel clause stating that in the event that I am laid off or fired, they would agree to not hire anyone to do similar work to mine for 1 years. I didn't want someone else to benefit from any systems, processes, or code that I provided to the company prior to my dismissal.
And guess what.... they did neither and I turned down the offer.
Was a #*$% company anyway.

[baileykeller]

If a company says i can't get a job with another employer, then they shouldn't be able to hire someone else if they fire me.

[unknownerorr]

What do you mean I can't hold a monopoly anymore??

[wesleywalker]

I signed a non-compete when I sold a business. It seemed perfectly reasonable to ask the person selling you a business not to compete with you immediately after the sale, however it seems unreasonable and unethical for a company to ask their employees to sign one.

[Yulrag]

Treating employees right. That phrase to many employers is like garlic to a vampire. Non-compete have some place, but for people working in non executive positions it should not be permitted.

[viru]

A company could lay you off or fire you and still have a non-compete stop you from getting a new job in your field which is straight evil, period. Non-competes only benefit corporations that the past few years have proven to be abusive.

[RyanK-]

FUCKING GENIUS. "I am in favor of taking away the freedom of someone to take away your freedom." I was wrestling with how to fit this new law into my pro-business and somewhat Libertarian framework. This is the answer.

[RandomGuy_Electric-Boogalo]

What I've always said is that if you want your workers not to go work for a competing company, pay them better and treat them better. They won't leave if you stop making them want to leave.

[citizenguy]

That's very nice of you to look out for your employees.

It's like a butterfly effect. Higher wages allows your workers to afford a house or take care of their kids better.

[SubFlow]

Non-competes are rarely enforceable but company's will frequently tie former employees up in legal fees instead, which is typically just as effective. I'm happy to see this practice end.

[seephor]

When I first learned about non-compete agreements, I honestly thought this was a joke and couldn't be true. That was just intuition. I'm glad it was struck down.

[diplenski]

i worked as a tech for an hvac company that tried to have us sign non-competes. i don't remember the specifics but it was laughably restrictive, nobody quit but none of us signed it

[richardjr]

It really hurts contract employees also, if the company you are contracted to decides they like you as an employee then if you have a non compete you are stuck.

[size_t]

I don't know how this works in the US, in Germany we have something similar. But: 1.) If you leave the company, you get 50-100% compensated from the company for the duration of the non-compete clause. 2.) It is typical for very high paid jobs and you're able to negotiate the clause. Which is fine, some people doing a 6 month vacation after they left the company, because they get paid

[TheZoenGaming]

True story: A friend was stuck in a job with a horrible office situation dealing with both a boss and co-worker in a single room. They weren't bad people, their personalities were just not something he could deal with constantly.

After trying to get HR to fix things and get a separate space for months, he had the good fortune of having a meal with someone from upper management. That person asked why he didn't simply quit, and he explained that he had signed a non-compete agreement. The company's local branch had downsized to the point where he would have to go into a completely different career because of the specific tasks and responsibilities of his position having become so broad and encompassing.

The UM was shocked by this and promised to hire on more people to fix that issue. My friend told me that they eventually were backbup to the original number of employees at that branch within two months.

It seems that not every member of management thinks a non-compete is a good thing!