A non-compete agreement can only be applied if your employer proves that you are competing. 10. I was asked to sign a non-compete agreement after I started working for the employer. Is that legal? If you have unreasonable hardness in signing a non-compete clause, the non-compete clause may not apply. If you think your non-compete agreement will hinder your attempts to start a business, advising a lawyer with experience in labour law in your state may be a good idea. Your lawyer can tell you whether these arguments are valid in your state and can offer other arguments. He or she can also help you invalidate the contract or negotiate new terms with which you can live. Keep in mind that a consultation costs much less than defending a lawsuit. Has the employer made any oral promises to get you to sign a non-compete agreement and not implement it? You may have been told that the non-compete contract would only be applied if you went to a particular employer, but your former employer imposes it regardless of who you are going to work with. If you are leaving a job and you have a non-competition, the best thing to do is to get advice from a work lawyer before you leave.
An agreement written with the new employer to defend you and pay you, even if you cannot provide certain services, if a court issues an injunction, protect you. If you are sued for imposing non-competition, you must immediately contact a work lawyer to defend yourself, or you will lose your new job, you will have a money judgment against you and you will have no way to increase the defenses on the non-compete agreement. 14. If the non-compete clause I have signed is applied, it means that I cannot earn a living at all. What am I supposed to do? That depends. A first look at the terms of the non-compete clause itself. Is this about resigning? Assuming he does — and says the competition is still valid, even if you are terminated — the question is: Is it legal? Here, too, the answer is this: that`s what counts. If the reason for your dismissal is an employer`s fault — discrimination, illegal employer activity or similar misconduct — most courts have ruled that a non-competition clause is no longer applicable.
This is because the employer`s unlawful conduct was not part of the worker`s expectation when he accepted the non-competition clause.