Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Start-ups (specifically tech start-ups) generally don’t have much need for inexperienced or untrained students who just graduated and are now entering the workforce. Instead, they have a greater need of well-trained, knowledgeable, experienced workers to help them build their new venture into a profitable business. But they’re finding it increasingly difficult to hire those people in states that protect non-compete agreements.
Experts say that the rise of Silicon Valley as the heart of the technology world is directly related to California’s refusal to enforce any non-compete agreements whatsoever.
A non-compete agreement is part of an employment contract that prevents a worker from leaving their employer to work for a competitor. There’s usually a geographical limit of a few miles and a time limit around six months to a year, but companies are increasingly leaving those limitations behind and simply preventing their workers from ever working for any competitor.
The practice started with high-level executives who could potentially take sensitive trade secrets directly to a competitor, thereby ruining their former employer’s prospects. But more and more companies have been expanding their use of non-competes to cover all their employees – from those earning minimum wage, all the way to the top of the corporation.
Employee advocacy groups have fought hard against the use and enforcement of non-compete agreements and Big Business has fought just as hard in their favor. Large corporations trying to hold onto their employees at any cost have started looking for ways to punish their employees for leaving, rather than enticing them to stay. Continue reading ›