Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I work for a high tech company in Northern California. I am thinking of leaving and have been told by others who have left that HR will pull you into a room and ask you to sign an agreement not to contact anyone who works at the present company about job opportunities at your new company. The implication is that not signing will impact paying you for your accrued vacation and two week's notice period. Everyone I spoke to said they felt they had no choice but to sign. None of these people were directors or even managers. No one (me included) was asked to sign an agreement before coming to work at the company. Is this legal or just a bluff? My current company along with several other high profile companies are already being sued in a class action for collusion in agreeing not to hire each other's employees. Isn't this the same type of thing?


Asked on 8/18/14, 1:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Perry Law Offices of Charles R. Perry

Without seeing the agreement to which you are referring, it is not possible to fully evaluate the situation.

The company cannot withhold benefits already earned, such as accrued vacation. If severance pay has not already been agreed upon, a company can impose lawful conditions upon the receipt of such payment. It is not at all clear whether the conditions you claim your company wants to impose are indeed lawful -- in part because the exact conditions are not known.

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Answered on 8/18/14, 2:57 am


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