Corporate Law Non Compete Clause

[fudge]

I was hired by an east coast company to do regional sales management in my field from a home office. I was recently laid off as part of a large cost cutting reduction in which many were laid off. I had signed a non-compete with the east coast company, and am now considering a competitive east coast company to work in a CA office as a sales person. I understand that non-compete clauses are considered non-valid in CA. Is that correct and valid when the HQ of both companies is in another state? How can I protect myself?

 

[David_Staub]

Unlike the situation in other states, most non-compete agreements are illegal in California and against public policy. (California Business and Professions Code Section 16600). On the assumption that your non-compete arose solely in an employment context, if your old employer were to sue you in California, it is very likely that it would lose. If your former employer instead sued you in another state that had personal jurisdiction over you and won, it is apparently unsettled whether California would allow the judgment to be enforced in California.

Before taking any competitive job in California, you should have your old non-compete agreement reviewed by an attorney who is well-versed in the law of California with respect to non-compete agreements.

David Staub