Interested in hearing about people's experience with breaking non competes. Any takers?
It's likely a geographic no compete. I have seen various guys come out of their contracts and set up shops within the geographic limits of their no compete clause. None of have them have been sued by their previous employers. I specifically talked to a couple of them and they both said that it's almost impossible to enforce because it violates some labor laws, apparently takes away your "ability to work". They are all doing well so far, even taking call at their previous employer. Other physicians who have done the same are also doing fine, none have been sued by their previous employers for violating their non compete clause.
Seperate from legal enforcement likelihood, OP......did you give your word not compete in a manner that you are now planning on competing?
...what?
My state is like this. Its not uncommon for subspecialists to have to go back to their original training to avoid a lawsuit - for example, my allergist tried to break his noncompete. The hospital attorney argued, and the judge agreed, that since he could go back to internal medicine that the allergy-only noncompete did not represent an undue hardship. Same thing happened with a cardiologist here in town.In California non-competes are on their face illegal from the get go. It actually puts the writer of the contract liable for damages if they arent careful. There have been several high profile cases where national companies were too lazy to change their "standard" contracts and really just wanted to intimidate people where they ended up paying large sums of money. There are rare equity/partnership situations where it could apply, but they are very specific and not the usual case. Besides, im an independent contractor legally, so that would be hard to square without a different liability popping up.
Even in states where theyre legal they cant be overly broad or long, and are often changed to something more reasonable.
I see what you're getting at, and I applaud it to a degree - but I think it depends on the situation. I left my last job over broken promises by a ****ty hospital administrator. Luckily I didn't have a noncompete, but if I had it wouldn't have changed what I did.I'm asking if OP can be trusted to keep their word
I see what you're getting at, and I applaud it to a degree - but I think it depends on the situation. I left my last job over broken promises by a ****ty hospital administrator. Luckily I didn't have a noncompete, but if I had it wouldn't have changed what I did.
I agree that it's possible for the group/hospital to have legitimately not kept up their part of the bargain. But I've seen (in a few industries) people being very creative in their justifications for not keeping their word in issues like this...they use the group/company to build up a client list and contacts and then strike out on their own while trying to take advantage of all they built on the companies dime.
I don't know OPs situation but it seems people are pretty quick to just cheer for the doc breaking the non-compete...context is important
To say noncompetes in CA are not enforceable is half true. They cannot be enforced against employees but have been enforced against partners.
We just have different views on this. It being legal to break my word doesn't mean I'm a better man than if I illegally break my word.Geographic non-competes are not enforceable for the same reason that you can't sign a waiver of right to sue for malpractice prior to undergoing surgery. Well, you could be asked to sign something like that, and maybe be fool enough to do it, but when it comes down to it, it won't stick. You also can't legally sell yourself into actual slavery. You can try, and someone might take the other end of the contract, but no courts will enforce it.
There are boundaries around contract law. They prohibit parties from being taken advantage of by one another. Employers who put geographic non-compete clauses in their contracts are fully aware that these are frequently not actually enforceable, but they benefit from putting them in anyway because people who do not know that those clauses are invalid will abide by them.
I understand your position, that a person should keep their agreements. But I feel that the chicanery begins when the invalid clause is inserted into the contract. If the party who put it in there knows that it is bunk, then why should I even fight to have it removed before I sign? If anything, knowing that an employer is willing to use trickery to attempt to gain a benefit in a contract should be a red flag for seeking a different opportunity. But if I am willing to overlook that flaw, my generosity toward the other party need not extend to allowing their malfeasance to benefit them, by "keeping my word" to abide by a flawed contract.
We just have different views on this. It being legal to break my word doesn't mean I'm a better man than if I illegally break my word.
I can understand the appeal of "sticking it to the man" particularly when the government intrusion has all but forced docs into large groups or hospital employment.I respect your stance, even when I find it untenable. I'm not sure you can say the same about me, but I'm okay with that.
Geographic noncompetes are very enforceable, as with everything else its state dependent.Geographic non-competes are not enforceable for the same reason that you can't sign a waiver of right to sue for malpractice prior to undergoing surgery. Well, you could be asked to sign something like that, and maybe be fool enough to do it, but when it comes down to it, it won't stick. You also can't legally sell yourself into actual slavery. You can try, and someone might take the other end of the contract, but no courts will enforce it.
There are boundaries around contract law. They prohibit parties from being taken advantage of by one another. Employers who put geographic non-compete clauses in their contracts are fully aware that these are frequently not actually enforceable, but they benefit from putting them in anyway because people who do not know that those clauses are invalid will abide by them.
I understand your position, that a person should keep their agreements. But I feel that the chicanery begins when the invalid clause is inserted into the contract. If the party who put it in there knows that it is bunk, then why should I even fight to have it removed before I sign? If anything, knowing that an employer is willing to use trickery to attempt to gain a benefit in a contract should be a red flag for seeking a different opportunity. But if I am willing to overlook that flaw, my generosity toward the other party need not extend to allowing their malfeasance to benefit them, by "keeping my word" to abide by a flawed contract.
Geographic non-competes are not enforceable for the same reason that you can't sign a waiver of right to sue for malpractice prior to undergoing surgery. Well, you could be asked to sign something like that, and maybe be fool enough to do it, but when it comes down to it, it won't stick. You also can't legally sell yourself into actual slavery. You can try, and someone might take the other end of the contract, but no courts will enforce it.
There are boundaries around contract law. They prohibit parties from being taken advantage of by one another. Employers who put geographic non-compete clauses in their contracts are fully aware that these are frequently not actually enforceable, but they benefit from putting them in anyway because people who do not know that those clauses are invalid will abide by them.
I understand your position, that a person should keep their agreements. But I feel that the chicanery begins when the invalid clause is inserted into the contract. If the party who put it in there knows that it is bunk, then why should I even fight to have it removed before I sign? If anything, knowing that an employer is willing to use trickery to attempt to gain a benefit in a contract should be a red flag for seeking a different opportunity. But if I am willing to overlook that flaw, my generosity toward the other party need not extend to allowing their malfeasance to benefit them, by "keeping my word" to abide by a flawed contract.
Just to echo what Dr. Hopeful said, geographic non-competes are very much legal because they are protecting someone from stealing someone else's business (assuming the state they are signed in hasn't said otherwise) and is not taking advantage of one party (although they tend to feel that way). They do have to be reasonable though, which usually means including an expiration date and a geographic boundary (miles). One of the largest multi-state nonprofit health systems in the NW is notorious for having these contracts with family practice docs and forcing them to either move out of town or pay 100k+ to open up shop nearby and these are being upheld in court.
Similarly, the second you propose that a non-compete clause be removed from your contract may be the moment that they decide they don't need you.
If you sign a contract there is no 'trickery' because you were able to read it in full before agreeing.
As was mentioned previously, there is a difference between employment and partnership contracts.
Even with an expiration date and a mile boundary, they have often found to be unenforceable, even in states where they had previously been honored. All it takes is for one court to find that they place an undue burden for a precedent to be set. That process has occurred so often that such clauses are generally toothless. The places where they stick are the exceptions. As with everything, jurisdiction matters and local lawyers should be consulted.
Your final point is the very reason these clauses are out of favor. If even proposing the objection to the clause can cause you to lose the opportunity, and if the clause itself severely limits your capacity to earn a livelihood, then it can be construed as an unreasonable burden. Because employers were so heavy handed with these clauses, writing them for terms of many years and hundreds of miles, they killed the goose. If they had been 1-2 years, 25 mile radius exclusions, and not signed under duress, they would likely not have been made illegal or invalid in so many jurisdictions.
Trickery might be a strong word, but it is absolutely bad faith to include a clause that one knows to be invalid, in the hopes that the other party will abide by it anyway, whether out of a sense of honor or intimidation.
And I am telling you that I personally know two physicians who's geographic based noncompetes were upheld, so in my state they are far from toothless.As was mentioned previously, there is a difference between employment and partnership contracts.
Even with an expiration date and a mile boundary, they have often found to be unenforceable, even in states where they had previously been honored. All it takes is for one court to find that they place an undue burden for a precedent to be set. That process has occurred so often that such clauses are generally toothless. The places where they stick are the exceptions. As with everything, jurisdiction matters and local lawyers should be consulted.
Your final point is the very reason these clauses are out of favor. If even proposing the objection to the clause can cause you to lose the opportunity, and if the clause itself severely limits your capacity to earn a livelihood, then it can be construed as an unreasonable burden. Because employers were so heavy handed with these clauses, writing them for terms of many years and hundreds of miles, they killed the goose. If they had been 1-2 years, 25 mile radius exclusions, and not signed under duress, they would likely not have been made illegal or invalid in so many jurisdictions.
Trickery might be a strong word, but it is absolutely bad faith to include a clause that one knows to be invalid, in the hopes that the other party will abide by it anyway, whether out of a sense of honor or intimidation.
I'd like to step out of the legality discussion here and discuss the concept of a non-compete.....do you see something as morally/professionally incorrect in saying, "I have a client base here, you may come and work for my group/hospital and I'll get you set up. The only thing I require in return, is that if I give you access to my clients, you can't try to leave with them. You can't work within normal driving distance for a 2years." It doesn't impose an undue burden at all. You're still a doctor in america, you can still make a living....you just don't get to build a poaching plan on my payroll.
And I am telling you that I personally know two physicians who's geographic based noncompetes were upheld, so in my state they are far from toothless.
I think we have small differences to approach but we still have a lot in common on this topicI don't have an issue with that, and if I signed something like that, I wouldn't have a problem abiding by it, legality aside. I have skipped pursuing opportunities that would have conflicted with reasonable noncompetes that I have signed.
What many employers have done, and some still try to do, is to include clauses restricting the right to work within 50 or 100 or 200 miles, for 5 or 10 years or without an expiration. I briefly worked for a company that likes to put clauses in their boilerplate contracts that say you won't work in your professional capacity withing 100 miles of any of their offices for 1 year. They are a travel nursing / medical staffing agency that has offices everywhere, so that basically means not working in most of the US. They wouldn't let you line it out, but the recruiters would tell people that the agency doesn't try to enforce the clause. Someone in corporate thought it was a good way to increase retention, to convince employees that they could be sued if they left and tried to work for another company... since most people can't afford not to work in their field for a year, they hope that people are frightened to seek other jobs and will stay. That is actually how the local recruiter explained the matter to me. They were pretty shameless about it. I should have walked, but I needed a job and no one else was getting back to me just then.
The placement was a fiasco and I wasn't able to complete the assignment due to concerns about losing my license over some of the shenanigans that were going on. I had a different job nearby a few days later, and the recruiter at the first agency called me quite a few names and told me they were going to sue to enforce the noncompete. My lawyer made one phone call and I never heard another thing from them.
I didn't go to work for one of their clients that I met while working for them, since that would have been unethical. But I certainly didn't feel bound to avoid working anywhere for a year.
It is possible that you just skimmed my posts, and so did not notice the multiple times I have stated something like: "it depends upon the jurisdiction, consult local attorneys."
Interested in hearing about people's experience with breaking non competes. Any takers?
As was mentioned previously, there is a difference between employment and partnership contracts.
Even with an expiration date and a mile boundary, they have often found to be unenforceable, even in states where they had previously been honored. All it takes is for one court to find that they place an undue burden for a precedent to be set. That process has occurred so often that such clauses are generally toothless. The places where they stick are the exceptions. As with everything, jurisdiction matters and local lawyers should be consulted.
Your final point is the very reason these clauses are out of favor. If even proposing the objection to the clause can cause you to lose the opportunity, and if the clause itself severely limits your capacity to earn a livelihood, then it can be construed as an unreasonable burden. Because employers were so heavy handed with these clauses, writing them for terms of many years and hundreds of miles, they killed the goose. If they had been 1-2 years, 25 mile radius exclusions, and not signed under duress, they would likely not have been made illegal or invalid in so many jurisdictions.
Trickery might be a strong word, but it is absolutely bad faith to include a clause that one knows to be invalid, in the hopes that the other party will abide by it anyway, whether out of a sense of honor or intimidation.