Saturday, August 09, 2008 - 1:12 am
Nice!!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/07/BAUH12716R.DTL&tsp=1
This probably will have significant implications for radio people here in the near future.
I've always been against these. There is a difference between trading in secrets and having somebody own your right to market skills acquired on the up and up.
Saturday, August 09, 2008 - 1:00 pm
Anyone else remember when "Encompass Teleservices" in Beaverton went under last year? The bank wouldn't honor the employees' final paychecks, the company referred them to the state employment security office (whatever the official title is of the place that sometimes pays out when places do this), and also enforced non-competes saying that they couldn't work in, of all things, cell phone customer service for a year (or 6 mos. or whatever). We're not talking about high-paying jobs here, this was one of those probably sweatshop-style $8.50/hr. chop shop call centers.
I've always been against these. There is a difference between trading in secrets and having somebody own your right to market skills acquired on the up and up.
I agree. If somewhere is so paranoid that someone's going to take some ultra-secret business practices, then hopefully that should be under a non-disclosure. I've signed plenty of these (after throughly reading them).
Then there's the angle of prohibiting someone from using their basic skills they brought in the door with them to try to have a livelihood, as the call center non-compete did.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 9:35 am
I would guess that this will eventually be an issue that will go all the way to the Supreme Court. However billion dollar corporations will most defientely lobby against these changes!
Techniques learned on the job are not a non-compete issue period. However trade secrets are a different story altogether.
I think I have said this once before on here and that is one thing comes to mind in relation to the radio business. The Pro Wrestling industry is much the same.
When a wrestler for WWE for example leaves or is "wished the best in all future endevours" these personalities are subject to something like a 90 day non-compete clause that states they cannot work for any promotion anywhere in the world for 90-days.
I can see WWE as well as companies such as Entercom and others lobbying big time against this issue.
