Unenforceable non-compete clauses played a non-minor role in the success of CA as a tech-hub.
Sure take a job in MA or NYC as an engineer, but come back in 2 years when your employer is preventing you from working or building a company.
Sure take a job in MA or NYC as an engineer, but come back in 2 years when your employer is preventing you from working or building a company.
Microsoft, at least used to, aggressively enforce non-competes. I worked on an enterprise product at Microsoft in the 2000s and left to go work at Google, but I could not work on Drive/Docs etc
1.) Massachusetts recently passed a law significantly limiting non-competes
2.) I've never been able to find specific numbers, but my experience in Massachusetts is that they're far from universal. I've only had one in my career and that one was quite narrow. (That was EMC which was one of the local employers who fought hardest against the weakening of non-competes.)
I don't like non-competes and personally think the new law should have been stronger than it was. But, historically people jumped around employers like the Route 128 computer companies all the time.
even for an exempt employee, the MA law now requires 50% salary to be paid for the period the employee can't work.
i don't know if existing agreements are enforceable or not though.
A few high profile sackings of HR directors or General Counsels might help.
Someone without the latitude to hire, fire and delegate as necessary should NOT be exempt.