Should I Sign that Non-Compete Agreement?

With fierce competition between employers for the highly sought after employees, this is a very common situation in today’s job market.  Non-compete agreements are created by employers to protect them from spending lots of money training you just to have to go to one of their competitors.  Factor in the likely fact that you would be bringing (and applying) proprietary information/intellectual property, you can imagine why some companies are especially paranoid.

A former employer had me sign a non-compete.  At first, I was rather wary.  Our line of business was offering professional services in a very niche market so I understood.  I eventually signed it after doing some research for the following reasons:

• Usually employers don’t pursue damages for breaches of non-compete agreements if the separation was amicable.
• The language of the non-compete was not especially out of line.
• Non-competes are VERY HARD to enforce!

I think that that last item answers the question posed in the title of the post; yes, you should sign it.  State law is usually friendly to employees.  Non-competes are all but out of the question in California, Colorado, and Oregon.  Georgia and Wisconsin strike the entire non-compete if any item is deemed too broad (e.g.  employee is not allowed to work for any competitor).  Note that if you live in Florida, Texas, Michigan, or New Jersey courts there are more likely to enforce the non-compete.  In the end, courts are usually reluctant to stop someone from applying their skills in the job market.

In situations where you are looking to jump to another company, if disagreements arise regarding your switch, ask your new company to get into the mix.  Depending on what you bring to the new company, the company may be willing to settle, on your behalf, with your former employer.