do or die

my boss wants me to sign a non-compete and I'm stressing over what to do.

i tried to get him to negotiate different terms, but he won't budge. essentially... if i leave or if im let go... i'm out of a job for a year and a half in the industry im in... anywhere in the world. lol

it's ridiculous.

now really, i dont plan on going anywhere, at least for a few years, but i dont want to be tied down. there's a good chance i may want to leave in a couple years and do something different, but not directly competing. still in the same area though. i would have no effect on his business.

he likely wouldn't come after me legally if i did and went to work with another company that doesnt compete with his business... though, as said, he probably would if i tried to steal his business and the client relationships he's built thus far. absolutely understandable... and i wouldn't do it. i dont work like that.

my dilemma... do i sign it and just hope for the best, or risk impending and likely termination (but no limitation or repercussion if i went to a competing company) by signing it.



—?


*grumbles*

this blows

please help

😢

Two Questions:

1. where do you live?

2. what do you do?

Don't sign it! If you do, he'll own you, and he knows it. If he's trusted you this far without it, what has changed that he now thinks it necssary?

The only condition under which you should accept signing one is if upon the termination of your employment - for any reason whatsoever (cause, no cause, it's Tuesday, ...) - you are entitled to severence pay equal to the income you would receive if you had remained employed in your previous capacity for the duration of the non-compete. Absent that provision, no deal. This is not a negotiation; this is his attempt to make you make yourself a slave.

I've only been with him for 4 months now.

I want to negotiate non-solicitation instead, to narrow down the territory i cant touch to the territory he's in, and if any of that cant be done, then a shorter non-compete and yes severance... equal to what i'm making.

im still essentially in the training phase still.

im a med device sales rep in Nevada

why is he supposedly doing this? well a few things... we're picking up other companies and it's also a request from them to protect the business we build for them. also, the other chick that i've replaced went after his clients after she left.

it is standard and he's now had all of my team members sign it. so far i'm the only one trying to negotiate it. everyone else has signed it. but the one he has drawn up is in my experience (albeit inexperienced experience) is pretty effin ... out there.

he very nicely said if i dont sign it then i'll have a couple of weeks before he hopes i can find a job. lol

when he hired me he did say he wanted me to sign a non-compete. and actually he said it would be 2 yrs... this one is 18 months. lol i'm guessing he's just finally got around to having a lawyer draft this up.

should i call his bluff and not sign it until he agrees to alter it to something more damn reasonable?

assuming... -_- ... that he's bluffing

lol

I stand by what I said above, but at an absolute minimum it should have a geographical limitation. If you move from his employ in Sin City to the employ of some company based out of Indianapolis, the non-compete should be null and void.

Having a non-compete doesn't bother me, but that it's completely one-sided (as you've described this one to be) would be a no-go for me (and I think should be for you, but that's not my place...).

If he wouldn't agree to the severance clause I mentioned above I'd tell him, in my most professional, I-mean-business voice, that we have nothing more to discuss. Oh, and I will definitely be taking every client I have brought in for you with me, Mr. WannaBeSlaveMaster. I am not a slave and I won't make myself one.

I think by not signing i run the risk of losing the job, but then being faced with another non compete at another company. Potentially a less or just as severe contract. potentially a company with the resources to sue my ass if I signed and were in breach of contract.

Thats one scenario...

Or I do sign it. Stay with the company for a few years. Then leave and stay in the industry but in a non-competitive market OR a non-competing line. I would still technically be in breach of contract. He could sue me if he wanted. But being a smaller distributorship, he very likely wouldnt. Thats thousands of dollars in legal fees. But thats just an assumption. One Im still wary of.

...Worst case scenarios.

Id like to stay for sure, but I dont wanna sign this bs. I want it changed. I might be just fine being let go and moving to a better company with a contract that isnt quite so crappy.

I would be quite pleased for you if he did negotiate, but completely unsurprised if he did not. One thing that might be fun (depending on what entertains you...) is to call your state attorney general's office and tell them that you are being asked to sign such a document and you would like to know if your employer has the right to compel you to sign it and if the limitations placed upon you in it are enforceable. You would be amazed at how motivational the comments from someone with a return address at the AG's office can be. Print off the email and show him. I've seen this done...very effective.

Another option is to draw a line through those parts of the agreement you don't like and then sign it, but with an asterisk next to your signature and each part you strike out. Specify by virtue of the asterisk that your acceptance of the terms in the agreement is contingent upon the other party's (your employer's) acceptance of the modifications you made. If they are not accepted in full, your signature is null and void. Sign and date each page for good measure. This option throws a monkey wrench in things for the employer because he can't say you didn't sign the agreement - you just didn't sign the one he presented to you. Depending on the vagaries of Nevada law, this may or may not help you.

A third option is a variation on the second: don't cross anything out, still sign with the asterisk, but this time next to the asterisk specify that your signature shall only be binding upon presentation of the complete original executed document. Make sure you sign/date all of the pages and that they aren't stapled or otherwise bound. If you stick around for a few years before leaving and then he does try to enforce it, he will need the original to enforce it. Obviously, if he has the original, he can, but a lot of documents get lost over time, both accidentally and with, erm, assistance 😉

Whatever you do, if you sign anything, make absolutely certain you keep a fully executed (counter-signed by your employer) copy for your own records so you know what you signed.

^^ That.

You could also have an attorney look at it. Have them draw up one with your terms/protections. Sign it and give it to him. It is understandable he protects his interest, but he needs to realize your interests need to be protected too.

Really really good advice ladies n gents.

M thank you for those links! they're very helpful.

Still havent decided what to do.

Boss is giving me a few days.

thank you all!!!!!

Im drafting up what I'm willing to sign...

lol

... I'm going to get myself canned, I just know it.

That's one of the things I like best about you, Creepy...you're always so positive 😛

😉 Hey... I can't help that I'm a capricorn... prepare for the worst! lol

Truthfully though... I'm quite unprepared for the worst. :\

Given that I was wished luck finding a job in a couple weeks if I dont sign it, I changed the wording so that it says that the contract is "entered into under condition of employment and not voluntarily..."

Fingers crossed for ya! 😄

Hope Mr. Boss Man will be ok with it!

Sending vibes for luck your way...

Thanks all 🙂











My nerves are about to drive me insane... So Im loving the good vibes!

Yup... Got bitched out. Ugh. Im pissed!!

He has no right to ask you to basically promise never to work for anyone else in your field. That's about as unreasonable as it gets. He can gripe all he wants, but the important thing is: did you get canned—

Lol no. But I dont like being bullied.

Pffft. Bully, smully. Bring it, boss man! You're not a push-over, and you proved this. The important thing is that he has more respect for you now than he did before. He may not realise this, but he does. Go Creepy!

lol thanks guys. a bunch... really. 🙂

intestinal fortitude fo sho lol this isn't my first strike as far as proving that i'll do what suits me. lol :\ when he offered me the job apparently i took too long accepting while interviewing with another company. so i basically lost the offer, but he lost his 2nd choice, so i stepped back up to the plate with a "pick me pick me" smile. when we sat back down again, the third thing out of his mouth... "no one has ever turned me down!" even though i really didn't. gosh, i nearly forgot that. he's gotta be so fed up with me. lol!

and he's a cancer. he's cool... very caring. he likes me a lot, my attitude and the way i work. but wants too tight of a grip on his employees. it's understandable to a point. beyond that point, it's unreasonable. i'm not owned by the business... I'm friggin contracted. this shit that he wants me to sign is it.

blech... i can't think about it anymore today. whatever happens, bet on me landing on my feet on higher ground

i just walked in the door after 12 hrs of work.

do you know what time it is— 🙂 🙂 🙂 ...
















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bottle poppin' time!!!!!! 😛 😄

cheap bottle of bubbleh...

and what am i celebrating?? how rad you all are... 😉 xoxoxo

Well, he knows he can't push you around and you won't allow it. Sit back and watch. Those that signed his contract, no questions asked, will get walked all over. He will bully them and push crappy work off on them. But, I bet he won't treat you that way!!!!

We Caps won't stand for it - I never did anyway. Then again, I have the reputation at work for being outspoken and will call you on your shit (not the piddly stuff, but the big stuff like not following government regulations). They know I'm a team player and I will go to the mat for standards and following regulations and I won't back down. And guess what? They don't take advantage of me either. But, I see it happening to the ones who don't use their voice.

So!!!! Good job for standing up for yourself! I'm proud of you!!

Oh, by the way, my Aries dad told me once he would have fired me in a heartbeat had I worked in his company. For insubordination. I told him I would have taken him to court! hahahaha!!!!!! (it's an old joke of ours).