Got my first cease and desist letter in my life last Friday. My old employer is invoking a non-compete. I busted my arse for this guy for fifteen months as a contractor and a lawsuit is what I get. The company I went to assembles and programs automated production lines (manufacturer). The old company is a computer services company. Entirely dissimilar. For whatever reason, my old boss feels entitled to some of the work I'm doing now. It looks like I only need $25K to keep working if they pursue litigation.

What a great feckin' country. Chattel slavery anyone?

Non-competes suck. I've moved a couple time to get into markets that previous bosses had zero penetration into.

F the non-competes. F them in the A.

Like my one lawyer reminded me, you signed the Indian Treaty...er...non-compete....

An attorney friend tells me that non-competes are rarely upheld anymore. If the job pays worth a damn, it might be a few $$$ well spent to talk to a lawyer and find out. That might even buy a "bring it on, dumbshit" letter to the ex boss.

KVoimakas wrote:F the non-competes. F them in the A.

This is why you NEVER sign a non-compete.

Live and learn.

fmf84848404 wrote:This is why you NEVER sign a non-compete.

Live and learn.

Sometimes it is the difference between having a job, and being completely broke. The balance of power between an employer and employee (or a subcontractor) isn't exactly level.

That being said, a lot of states do not permit non-competition clauses. Ohio might allow it, I expect it does because this is a problem for you, but there are limits on what is legal.

I second the suggestion to consult with an attorney. The threat of litigating a contract may be the intention of the employer, enough to scare you. If the nature of the work involved is significantly different, or if the laws are somehow not favoring the former employer, you might be able to spend a couple hundred bucks for a letter telling the former employer that he should pack sand.

Search out for an employment attorney, the type that represents employees and not employers. Lawyers.com is a good place to start.

Yossarian wrote:

fmf84848404 wrote:This is why you NEVER sign a non-compete.

Live and learn.

Sometimes it is the difference between having a job, and being completely broke. The balance of power between an employer and employee (or a subcontractor) isn't exactly level.

That being said, a lot of states do not permit non-competition clauses. Ohio might allow it, I expect it does because this is a problem for you, but there are limits on what is legal.

I second the suggestion to consult with an attorney. The threat of litigating a contract may be the intention of the employer, enough to scare you. If the nature of the work involved is significantly different, or if the laws are somehow not favoring the former employer, you might be able to spend a couple hundred bucks for a letter telling the former employer that he should pack sand.

Search out for an employment attorney, the type that represents employees and not employers. Lawyers.com is a good place to start.

I worked for a company that grossly attacked folks that 'went internal' before the four years of non-compete were done into areas of the client where the company had zero insertion. The external staffing division 'smaked them in the pee pee' for doing so once too often.

OP, has your previous boss sent any legal docs to your new boss? Find out through your attourney. Your new employer may want to counter-sue.

Turns out the CEO's wife is a partner in large multi-city firm specializing in employment law. I stopped up there to drop a doc off only to find out the elevator will not go to that floor without the security guard calling up there first and scanning his badge across the button panel.

Wow, labor law must be tough there days.

edit - Yes, in this case the old boss, the CEO of a 10-15 employee company, sent my new boss a copy of the cease and desist as well as a copy of my non-compete.

Yossarian wrote:

fmf84848404 wrote:This is why you NEVER sign a non-compete.

Live and learn.

Sometimes it is the difference between having a job, and being completely broke. The balance of power between an employer and employee (or a subcontractor) isn't exactly level.

That being said, a lot of states do not permit non-competition clauses. Ohio might allow it, I expect it does because this is a problem for you, but there are limits on what is legal.

I second the suggestion to consult with an attorney. The threat of litigating a contract may be the intention of the employer, enough to scare you. If the nature of the work involved is significantly different, or if the laws are somehow not favoring the former employer, you might be able to spend a couple hundred bucks for a letter telling the former employer that he should pack sand.

Search out for an employment attorney, the type that represents employees and not employers. Lawyers.com is a good place to start.

This is good advice.

troutkiller wrote:Turns out the CEO's wife is a partner in large multi-city firm specializing in employment law. I stopped up there to drop a doc off only to find out the elevator will not go to that floor without the security guard calling up there first and scanning his badge across the button panel.

Wow, labor law must be tough there days.

edit - Yes, in this case the old boss, the CEO of a 10-15 employee company, sent my new boss a copy of the cease and desist as well as a copy of my non-compete.

just out of curiosity does your former and current employers actually compete against one another?,and even if it is doesn't the burden of proof fall onto your old employer to prove that you are actually competing against him?,I'd just talk to your current employer and explore options with him