Non compete

[james77]

Please help

I signed up with the contract agency Volt for a job at Microsoft as a contractor. My contract was supposed to be for a year but after 5 months was terminated due to a reorganization in my team. I was let go suddenly one evening with no serverance pay or anything

I have signed a non compete of 180 days which means i cannot work for Microsoft through another agency. But its six months and MSN is the biggest employer for online advertising professionals in Seattle. Volt has dissappeared and I havent heard anything from them-its been over a month. Meanwhile I am unemployed and another agency has approached me for a job with Microsoft.

Please help. Volt says I am under their non compete clause. What should I do

thanks

 

[cbg]

You should show the non-compete to an attorney in your state. We cannot comment on the enforceability of an agreement we have not read.

 

[calalily]

Was your contract with Volt or Microsoft? Does Volt still exist or did it go under? Did you sign the non-compete during the hiring process or later after you were employed. Also since they terminated you it is possible that the non-compete is not enforcable but a consultation with a contract lawyer would be money well spent if it means obtaining employment. You contradict yourself when you say Volt has disappeared and then say at the end that they say you are under the non-compete. I don't how they can enforce that if they fired you due to reorganization, it's unreasonable. Is the new position a contractor job also like working for Volt or would you work directly for MSN? Because you state that you cannot work for Microsoft through another agency. Because if it is like you stated and If you are not working for Microsoft through another agency then you wouldn't be violating the non-compete.

 

[james77]

thanks for your help. i will try to answer some of your questions

-Volt is still in operation (it didnt go under)
-i signed the non compete after receiving the job offer -contract
-when i say dissappeared, it means that they havent contacted me with any offers/leads and have basically left me high and dry and at the same time wont allow me to approach other agencies that do contract work with Microsoft
-my contract was with Volt not with Microsoft
-the new position is also contract with Microsoft but with another temp agency similiar to Volt
-I would work for the temp agency (employed by them) but work for MSN
-so the new position is for MSN but through another agency

 

[calalily]

I thought you said they terminated you? So they offered you job and upon acceptance of the job you had to sign the contract or was it after you worked a while they had you sign a contract? If it is a temp agency then you will be working for temp agency not MSN. You also did not work for Microsoft you worked for Volt.. Your area of expertise is Microsoft software, like being Microsoft certified right?

Any way cbg is right, too complicated to be able to decipher on a forum; so, see a contract lawyer to sort this all out.