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My interest in this issue stems from a desire to get some relief from
business interests restraining trade in my profession.
As I understand "restraint of trade," it doesn't apply to non-compete
clauses as long as there is sufficient work opportunity remaining after
enforcement of the clause. For example, a clause preventing a programmer in
Silicon Valley from working for any another computer company results in an
unacceptably large reduction of employment opportunities, so would be
unenforceable. A clause in an Oracle contract preventing one from working
for Informix, for example, would still leave many job opportunities
available, and would probably be enforceable.
It's all well and good to demand 100% of the job opportunities be available
to you, but the sad truth is it's not a perfect world. You want someone to
blame? Try blaming the ethical toads that bolted Novell taking with them
Novell's clustering technology and at the same time intentionally
sabotaging Novell's ability to use the technology they paid to have
developed. They aren't the first, but they're the most glaring recent
example. Employees deserve protection from rapacious companies, yes; but
companies also deserve the same protection. As always, when two rights
clash there must be compromise.
As these two issues have gotten somewhat tangled, it should probably also
be noted that non-compete clauses are different from non-disclosure
agreements and trade secrets. For example, Company A may or may not be able
to prevent me from working for Company B, but they are certainly able to
prevent me from using proprietary information to benefit their competitor.
(BTW, the best way to handle someone who wants you to spill the "inside
knowledge" you picked up at a competitor is to look them in the eye and
say, "Mr./Ms. X, I'm sure you don't want me to tell anyone else your
company's trade secrets, right? So I'm sure you can understand why I extend
the same level of confidentiality to your competitor." I think it was
Thomas More who said, "He who would steal *for* me would steal *from* me."
This response not only preserves your integrity, but also serves to assure
them *their* secrets are safe with you.)
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.
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