A non-compete is, in essence, a clause that dictates whether a worker can find employment (or create a product) that directly competes with their employer—even if they aren’t working for them anymore. Typically, these will last around six months to a year after the end of employment, but they can last longer.
Six months to a year after employment is hardly “at the same time.”
I think you may be misinformed as to what a non-compete agreement is. For example, when I worked for leaf filter, I had to sign a non-compete agreement that stated I couldn’t/wouldn’t work in the gutter protection industry for 6-12 months after leaving their company. Was it too broad to enforce and just their to keep anybody with a working brain from taking their service and providing it for cheaper? Yes. Did it work, effectively driving down competition and allowing them to effectively pigeonhole the US market? Also yes.
Depending on which employer you move to, you can still be sued regardless of non-competes, happens all the time where non-competes don’t exist (California). You can still receive a cease and desist depending on what you have worked on and where you are working now based on the IP regulations and non-disclosures, so this does nothing (and nobody in the industry is actually celebrating this except a few executives where the was enforceable).
I’ve signed dozens of these contracts, I know how they affect people, I know what they mean and how they are used.
To prevent people from being paid by multiple companies at the same time, which is a thing only execs do…
Six months to a year after employment is hardly “at the same time.”
I think you may be misinformed as to what a non-compete agreement is. For example, when I worked for leaf filter, I had to sign a non-compete agreement that stated I couldn’t/wouldn’t work in the gutter protection industry for 6-12 months after leaving their company. Was it too broad to enforce and just their to keep anybody with a working brain from taking their service and providing it for cheaper? Yes. Did it work, effectively driving down competition and allowing them to effectively pigeonhole the US market? Also yes.
Depending on which employer you move to, you can still be sued regardless of non-competes, happens all the time where non-competes don’t exist (California). You can still receive a cease and desist depending on what you have worked on and where you are working now based on the IP regulations and non-disclosures, so this does nothing (and nobody in the industry is actually celebrating this except a few executives where the was enforceable).
I’ve signed dozens of these contracts, I know how they affect people, I know what they mean and how they are used.