Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: non-compete agreements

California has a strong policy against non-compete provisions, however, if you work for a company based out of State, beware! Many other states recognize the legitimacy of non-compete contracts and companies may rush to court in those States to get a court order preventing you from working for a competitor. This could cause problems for you and your new employer, and some California courts may even recognize the validity of Sister State judgements. There are ways to deal with this, but it requires proactive action on your part.

Re: non-compete agreements

As for employees a company can't stop you from working in your chosen field. See Business and Professions Code Section 16000. Such provisions at void. Typically, the noncompete is part of a business sale so the seller doesn't go across the street and open up a new business doing the exact same thing. You can't use trade secrets that are patented without a license. If you were a computer programmer no company can stop you from doing that. However, if there is proprietary information that they own, you can't steal that. I practice in California and Indiana.

Best regards,

Michael Cortson

Attorney at law

Re: non-compete agreements

As a general rule they are not enforced in CA. see Business and Professions code section 16600.