rolled his eyes, not liking the word terminated.
“You should have talked to a lawyer before you signed this contract especially since you’re an at will employee, meaning you can be fired at any time for any reason.”
“I did. I mean, even if he made any changes, my agency wouldn’t have accepted it. Right?”
“True.”
“And it’s not like other agencies don’t have this contract.”
“True. It’s standard in a lot of industries.”
“Look, you think I like flying down to Miami to see you even though I live in Philadelphia.”
“The headquarters of Blake and Yurman is in Miami. The contract was executed by their lawyer in Florida.”
“I know. I have to hire a lawyer in Miami in case I’m laid off and want to fight to get out of my non-compete.”
The lawyer took a sip of his coffee from his blue mug. “Look, I mentioned over the phone that there may not be much I could do.”
“I understand that.”
He leaned back in his black swivel chair. “These contracts. They’re like a form letter that the lawyer filled out. They’re always air tight.”
“You know that they’re having layoffs in my firm. About 6 months ago, my boss was fired.”
“I understand.”
“There’s nothing I can do other than look for a job in another industry.”
“The contract is clear. You can’t work for a company that has a competing product to your company for 2 years even if you’re terminated. Some states have 3 years.” He took another sip of his coffee, stared at Gunn over the rim of his mug. “There is language in the contract that will stop anyone in the industry from hiring you because they can get sued as well. In addition, they can take out an injunction to stop you from working for a competitor.”
“Yes, and if I get fired, then I can’t work in my industry for 2 years.”
“That’s right.”
“Laws haven’t changed?”
“No, it’s up to the government to do something. Like they did in California.”
Gunn shook his head, clasped his hands behind his neck. “The only state where this contract is illegal.
“This contract should be illegal everywhere but it isn’t. It’s a career killer. They make it 2 years because they know that the industry will change and you can’t get back into it.”
“Just about everybody in my agency signed this contract. Production people. Accountants. Account managers. IT People. The media buyers. People in the art department.”
The lawyer chewed on the inside of his cheek. “That’s the way it works. Your agency is just trying to protect themselves.” He took a deep breath. “Trade secrets.”
Gunn shook his head, pressed his lips together. “Yet, we don’t know what really goes on in the boardroom.”
“Well, they’re trade secrets meaning that you have knowledge of the company and they want to protect their interests.”
“As I said, I don’t know what goes on on the boardroom. I have no insider information that I can share with anyone. As far as product knowledge is concerned or information on clients, that’s all public information.”
“I’m not trying to justify any of this. As I said before, this contract should be illegal but it isn’t. It’s up to the government to rectify this. It would cost you $10,000 to litigate and it’s more than likely that you would lose.”
“Since my salary is $55,000, even with commission, it’s not like I have $10,000 to burn.”
“I understand.”
“When I received the memo, it said that I had 3 weeks to sign the non-compete or I would be fired. Isn’t that duress?”
“Doesn’t matter. The courts will enforce it.”
“If I didn’t sign the contract, they could still fire me?”
“Of course.”
“What are the chances of the laws changing?”
“Not very good. In Massachusetts, they are trying to eliminate it but in Georgia, they’re trying to pass Amendment 1. If it passes, Atlanta’s laws will change and non-competes will be better enforced than they once were.”
“Why is that?” Gunn asked.
“It’s all about jobs. People are told that more jobs will be in their states if there are non-compete agreements. Companies want to open offices in those states that are considered employer friendly.” The lawyer took off his classes, cleared the fog by wiping it with his blue shirt, then put them back on. “That means a company wants to be located in a state where there are favorable court rulings for non-compete laws. Just like Florida.”
“Just great. I do have a question.”
“Okay.”
“I may have an interview coming up at a on-line advertising agency. Do you think I can work there?”
“As long as you don’t get involved in product advertising with that agency, or any of the other services, then that should be okay. You’ll probably have to get a letter from them stating this. Now, if your agency expands into on-line advertising within the next 2 years, then it could be a problem.”
“Even if I got the job.”
“I’m afraid so. If your company expands into other services, you can’t work for a company that has those services as well. Like I said, the company wants to make sure you don’t use any of the knowledge that you learned against them. The best thing to do is to look for a job completely out of your industry so you won’t be effected in any way. There are lots of job on-line.”
“Yes, I have sent out resumes. I don’t have any experience for those jobs.”
“It’s unfortunate. Companies like yours have an attitude that they’re doing a favor by giving you a job. Even if they fire you, they don’t have to give you anything, not even a severance package.”
“Nice. That’s the reason that nobody in the company isn’t getting a raise. The job is our reward.”
“The fact is that there is an old saying. He who owns the gold makes the rules.”
The sound of a car horn behind him broke Gunn from his reverie. He looked up at the light, saw it was green, then turned right into the South Mall.
“How much longer do I have to go?” Gunn muttered. He thought about the fact that he only had one raise since signing his non-compete in the last 6 years. He didn’t take it personally since he knew that just about everyone in the company didn’t get
