The new lab I will be working for wants me to sign a non compete/ non solicitation agreement which cover the time I’m there plus 1 year after. I assume this is pretty standard practice, for making $15 an hour if I find a better job in the industry I’d like to move up. Could this be a hindrance?
Depends where they’re located & where the non compete form came from.(state wise)
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Any business activity which competes with the Company within the state of Nevada.
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I’ve asked the same question. I’ve never once seen one enforced. I’ve been told in the past by dispensary owners they’re not actually enforceable.
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The only NDA/ NCA you’ll have to worry about is one from Oregon. Otherwise NV & CA likely won’t enforce. The owners may try to “scare you” but wouldn’t think about spending a few mill trying to get you to stop working.
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in cali a non compete is not allowed for a general employee but im not a lawyer, just what I have been told by our Attorney. Partners can be bound by NCNDA.
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15/hr is NOT worth my time to sign a nd/nc clause in my employment contract. 15/hr is easily attainable for a burger flipper position at a fast food place.
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I was honestly not even going to take the job, but I’ll get experience, I’ll probably be somewhere else when my lease is up in the summer.
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Alot depends on who hires you ( the type of company) built a lab back east for someone and they wanted to hire full time but they were using/made a temp agency so they could write off the expenses. So technically since they “could”staff any job, any job would have been a competitor. Is it enforcable, probably not but something to keep in mind. Always helps to have a good lawyer on retainer
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First off all almost no state will approve a non-compete that just flat out prevents you from getting another job in the same industry. I don’t care what state you’re in, they do not allow contracts that can be reasonably construed as preventing you from making a living. But I would not want to sign such a contract out of principle even though the odds they would even try to enforce it is infinitesimal.
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Probably what the company is thinking by making everyone sign the nca is that they are protecting themselves from another company setting up shop next door and stealing all their employees. I too doubt it would ever have any real implications to one individual making $15 an hour. The wages they would sue to get back from you at a new job would not pay the lawyer bill.
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What’s the deal with Oregon’s NCA?
One of the ONLY states that’ll hold & enforce it.
Oregon won’t enforce a contract like this either. I’ve been through the process personally.
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I signed one with a company in cali when I was gonna be their extraction manager. Site wasn’t completed and we were working at other labs, I went part time with them and started working extraction for the same site providers/competing type 7 lab. Long story short they fucked me on pay so I never signed the NDA they handed to me and they didn’t verify 
. Got to walk away with our created recipes that are doing 8 figures in Washington.
If they could’ve fucked me they would’ve. Can’t argue every other state tho.
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Yep, here to confirm what the others are saying:
The courts generally only consider non competes enforceable for critical, higher level positions where it can be legitimately damaging for the company to have that employee working for another company (that is beyond just having to replace you and with consideration for the NDA you’re also signing). Practically speaking, this just won’t come up for a $15/hr position. The company will never really try to enforce it, in no small part because if they do they won’t win. They may try to bully you if you leave but, they’re not going to litigate/go to arbitration because it’ll just get tossed. Bottom line is that no judge wants to see a working person unable to work because your former employer wants to shackle you to the still.
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Any business in this industry that makes you sign a non compete probably isn’t competitive to stay around for very long so I wouldn’t even worry about it.
Also, as others have said, they aren’t even enforceable in most states.
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Back when I was in the restaurant industry, I had never heard of non-competes until this small pizza joint opened and began poaching employees from other places. They filled all their positions with experienced employees by just being good people and paying a good wage. Funny how that works out.
All of a sudden local places started having their employees sign these non-compete agreements. It was just out of butt-hurt. Even back then I didn’t think they were enforceable. But that doesn’t really matter. When a company tells their employees shit they usually believe them. Corporate propaganda is a real thing - the goal is to stop the employee from moving companies, not to necessarily be uphold in court if that makes sense.
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Now I did have to sign a nda when doing show cars for GM. One buddy did the same work for Ford, another for Chrysler. Those 2 also had to sign nda. It was weird when we all got together, we couldnt talk too much about our work.
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Exactly, they can have you sign anything but that doesn’t mean it is enforceable. Sort of like that sign at the local public swimming pool that reads “not responsible for personal items or accidents” The purpose of both is to plant the seed that you can’t do something when in reality a good lawyer would rip them to shreds
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