David Donatelli's defection from EMC to HP has opened up interesting discussions about the nature of non compete (NC) agreements. Steve Duplessie wrote a piece this AM opining over how these things ought to work.
Tom Petrocelli remarked in Twitter this morning that the issue was that employers don't guarantee lifetime employment & advancement. Tom's point is right on the money. The days of employer/employer loyalty are mostly gone - especially in the light of the recession which has put lots of people on the street without a lot of warning. NCs are a relic from the past that we ought to abolish.
A world without NCs shifts the potential for being abused from the employee to the employer. In a world where employers can fire people at will, employees should be able to work where they want. There needs to be laws with teeth to prevent employers from being harmed by having trade secrets stolen and used against them. These are already in confidentiality clauses in employee agreements.
FWIW, Steve, OJT typically would not qualify as a trade secret.
