I have a friend who was just fired from his sales job... and a competitor has offered him a position with them. When he was hired with the first company he had to sign a form stating he wouldn't work for a competitor for 1 year. My question is if they have allready fired him what more can they do if he does take the position?
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Sometimes, when i'm lonely... i crawl into a laundry basket and tickle my ears. But, Some times I don't...
I'm pretty sure they won't pursue it, particularly since he was let go. He could always give the competitor company a heads-up about the non-compete he signed. That might assure him that it's not a big deal. Really, it's not worth the paper it's signed on. If they were to take it to court, they would have to prove that their trade secrets were more important than your friend's ability to feed and cloth himself by being gainfully employed using the skill set he possesses.
I am not a legal eagle either, however even with the non-compete, it is difficult to enforce in court. Picture sitting on a Jury listening to the argument that your friend is not allowed to earn an income. Non competes are usually only enforced if confidential or priviliaged information has been disclosed to the employee and then the employee uses that info at the new company.
I'm also no Eagle, maybe a really aggresive pidgeon.
Have your friend check if the agreement was to not work for a competitior, or to not call on the same clients. Saying you won't work for a competitor is rather silly because the only way to avoid that would be to change careers or industries. On the other hand, an agreement to not call on your old clients while working for the other guys is rather common.
