The FTC estimates about 30 million people, or one in five American workers, from minimum wage earners to CEOs, are bound by noncompetes. It says the policy change could lead to increased wages totaling nearly $300 billion per year by encouraging people to swap jobs freely.
They’ve been around forever, which is where my pessimism comes from. I’ve personally suffered and even had to pass up a job due to a non-compete. I’m not going to court to prove a point, which means employers have much more power than workers.
While they have been around forever, courts tend to take kindly to the argument that you need to be able to earn a living doing what you are an expert in, and so unless very narrow they tend to be struck down. You need a good lawyer though to get far in court which often makes the fight not worth it.
Differs from state to state. CA for instance has been shooting them down in court left and right–it’s such a guaranteed win for you that no company would actually sue you over it.
And that’s the point. It keeps lower-wage workers at bay, because a waged worker typically doesn’t have the time or resources for a long, drawn out court battle.
Isn’t there a pretty universal argument that you cannot prevent a person from earning an income? I’ve always thought that was the argument that gets these tossed in court. Then again i have zero experience with these and i didn’t know anyone who does so shrug
Unfortunately these are common in the healthcare industry. There are currently Healthcare workers who are being sued over this. Yeah, the companies may not ultimately win in court, but the workers can’t even afford to hire an attorney to defend themselves.
This was the advice I received when I consulted a lawyer on my non-compete. She said “I mean, you could go for it, but if they do call you on it, you’ll either owe the wages from your new organization, or you’ll have to take them to court and that’ll likely take a year or legal fees. You have to ask yourself if that’s worth it to you and your family.”
Sucked to hear, and NCs are predatory anti-worker BS.
Ah got ya. I’ve been in long term contact work for years in pharma mfg/pkg and haven’t ever really bumped into anyone with any experience. Ty for the input.