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I thought the non-compete clause was just scarecrow language until my old boss actually sued someone over it
I used to laugh at non-competes in job offers, especially the one I signed in Dallas back in 2021 that said I couldn't work for a competitor within 50 miles for 18 months. I figured it was just a bluff, but then a guy I worked with left for a rival shop and got a cease and desist letter plus a threat to freeze his pay for 6 weeks, and it cost him $3,200 in lawyer fees just to get them to back off. That whole thing made me go back and read the fine print on my current contract, and I found out the geographic radius was written as 100 miles, not 50. What really got me was the line about "directly or indirectly" owning any part of a competing business, which could include owning 2% of stock through a mutual fund. Has anyone here actually fought one of these and gotten it narrowed down, or do you just walk away from the offer?
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casey26810d ago
That line about "directly or indirectly" owning stock is the part that gets me. It's the same trick cable companies pull when they bundle 400 channels and you only wanted 3, but now it's your job on the hook instead of your cable bill. My uncle got hit with something like this years ago in the insurance world, and his lawyer basically said the only real move is to get the new employer to cover your legal fight, because fighting it alone is a money pit. Most people just walk from the offer, which is exactly what these clauses are counting on.
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