Non compete – I am Texas based with previous employer based in North Carolina. Should I seek guidance in NC?
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Non compete – I am Texas based with previous employer based in North Carolina. Should I seek guidance in NC?
I was terminated 9 months ago from my sales position. I was offered 20 weeks severance of my base salary not commissions – averaged about 40 more, for a 2 year non-compete. I am talking to a company in same industry that only does a fraction of the products my previous employer manufactured. I am also looking at a marketing role vs. sales. Is getting guidance in the state the company was based and written wise? If NC is also a Right to Work state do you feel it is fair for a company to prevent one from working per the agreement I signed? They dangle the money to get you to sign the agreement.
Asked on January 29, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
1) Non-competes are generally legal and enforceable, though there are a few states that will not enforce them. You may feel this is not fair, but the law believes it is: you voluntarily took their money in exchange for signing. You can't take their money but not honor the agreement you signed, and if you did not want to sign and be bound by the agreement, you could have refused the severance.
2) The relevant state is the state you intend to work in: that is the state that will have power over your job, and so the state that will or will not enforce the non-compete.
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