Ask The Republicans

           Today I saw a story in the Huffington Post with the headline Doggy Day Care Chain Makes Pet Sitters Sign Noncompetes To Protect 'Trade Secrets’.  In this case, this is Camp Bow Wow having their employees sign a two year non-compete agreement stating that they can’t work 25 miles from a competitor.  

           Not a shock.  A few weeks ago, I posted a story from 2009 about Petland suing a dog and cat groomer in St. Louis.  There were other cases as well such as Canine Oasis being in a lawsuit over a non-compete agreement.  

           Before that, there was a story on Jimmy John’s and their non-compete agreements for people who made sandwiches.  A few weeks ago, I posted a video from 2013 on a woman from Subway who was fired for being sick and was told that she couldn’t work within 100 miles of another sandwich shop in Michigan.  

            No, I’m not trying to say anything bad about the fact that the Huffington Post is behind in mentioning these stories.  I’m glad they’re doing it.  I’m glad that the Seattle Times ran their story on a maintenance worker being put on a non-compete agreement.  Maybe at some point news and cable networks will run a story as well once they feel that the story is credible.  So far, that hasn’t happened. 

             The truth is that there is nothing illegal about the companies putting their employees on non-compete agreements.  As my employment lawyer told me more than 8 years ago, non-compete agreements should be illegal.  It’s up to the government to do something about this.  As long as they do nothing, then this will continue.  

             We can look to legislation in the following states: Minneapolis, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland.  There was proposed legislation by the Democratic representatives because the feeling was was that employees were not protected from companies who put out non-compete agreements.  The legislation in all of these states failed.  It’s not hard to guess why this legislation failed. 

              In Maryland and New Jersey, the legislation was that if you were fired from your job and forced to collect unemployment benefits, then your non-compete agreement would be invalid.  Democratic Representatives stared this legislation.  Republicans opposed it.  Yes, the Republicans opposed this legislation, sending a message that they don’t have a problem paying unemployment benefits to people who can work but can’t work in their industry due to their non-compete agreement.  

             Over the next few days, people will be retweeting the story on Camp Bow Wow.  People will say how outrageous it is that these people are on non-compete agreements just like they said that Benny Almeida shouldn’t be on a non-compete agreement.  As non-compete lawyers will tell you, if these employees have a problem with this, then they should hire an employment lawyer, go to court, and spend over $10,000 to fight this.   That’s why we have the courts and that’s why there is no reason to regulate non-compete agreements.  

              There is your answer in a nutshell.  This is one of the reasons we have non-compete agreements.  It’s because the party that you’re feeling great about - The Republican Party - has prevented legislation from passing that would regulate non-compete agreements.  

              Maybe you’ll read a story in the Huffington Post next week about waiters and waitresses being on non-compete agreements.  That shouldn’t be a shock since maids are on non-compete agreements.   As my employment said, this will continue, until the state and local government steps in and regulates non-compete agreements.  
              If you would like some insight as to feelings the Republicans have, you can listen to this podcast on Amendment One in Georgia.  

Ron Hummer 

http://resultsmatterradio.businessradiox.com/2012/04/30/noncompete/

               

It Could Happen To You

      It seems that once again, we’ve reached an all time low when it comes to people who sign non-compete agreements.  I didn’t think anything would compare with a 16 year old teenage girl signing a non-compete agreement in order to work in a summer camp in Massachusetts.  

       It was reported in the Seattle Times that a maintenance worker had been asked to sign a non-compete agreement that stated that if he leaves, he can’t work for two years doing similar work in ServiceMaster’s area.  Maybe the only good thing about the agreement was that he wouldn’t be fired and be told that he can’t work for two years in the geographic area since that is usually standard in non-compete agreements such as the one I signed 8 years ago.  

         Since this article appeared, there have been a lot of people on Twitter sharing their thoughts, most of it being outrage that this should never have happened.  Yes, who would have thought that a maintenance worker would be put on a non-compete agreement since he was no threat to Servicemaster.  

          The truth is that this shouldn’t be a shock for people who are reading this article.  Non-compete agreements are in just about every profession now from hairdressers, dog and cat groomers, maids, and people who work at fast food restaurants such as Subway, PotBelly, and Jimmy John’s.  

           The explanation for all this is that corporate America is squeezing blue collar workers.  To me, that is only part of the truth.  The other part is something that has not been discussed yet.  

             The real reason for this is because employees across American are not protected from their employers since we are on non-compete agreements.  

             As one of my employment lawyers said, companies like mine have an attitude that they’re doing you a favor that they’re giving you a job because they can fire you at any time for any reason and they don’t have to give you anything, not even a severance package.  This should be illegal but it’s not illegal.  It’s up to the government to do something about this.  If the government continues to ignore this, then this will continue. 

              Of course, the subject of regulating non-compete agreements is taboo since we have newscasters at Fox News, Republicans, and Tim Allen saying that big government should get out of the way of big business.  Yet the answer is that non-compete agreements such as the one that Benny Almeidia and I have signed have been thriving for over 15 years because the Republicans in the state and local governments have been opposed to any regulations on non-compete agreements.  

               One example would be in New Jersey where the Democrats in the Assembly brought up legislation that stated that if someone was fired from their job and forced to collect unemployment benefits, then their non-compete agreement would be invalid.  This legislation did not pass due to opposition from Republicans.  Chris Christie had ignored this bill and did not say anything about it during his election for Governor.

                In any case, I was busy a few days ago, calling State Senators in the Washington State area.  Of the six people that I called, non of them were aware of the story in the Seattle Times on Benny Almeida.  That shouldn’t be a shock since this story did not run on any of the news or cable networks as well since they never heard about it either. 

            In all cases, the representatives that I spoke with listened to me intently as I explained the article to them and told them that they can find it by going Seattle Times and non-compete agreements.  The response I received today was that the representatives were very interested in the article now and there would be a discussion about this. 

            In Benny Almeida’s case, since he signed the agreement, nothing can be done to change that since it would be unconstitutional to invalidate his contract due to state laws in Washington State.  That would be the reason you would see legislation that would only help people who didn’t sign a non-compete agreement going forward.  Nothing can be done for people who have already signed a non-compete agreement. 

             So, the question would be this?  Would the State Senators and Assembly people be able to pass legislation that would regulate non-compete agreements?  That would be tough considering the fact that the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate and they are in favor of big government staying out of the way of big business. 

               With all this in mind, the future does seem grim in having non-compete agreements regulated in Washington State or any other state for that matter since Republicans, along with newscasters at Fox News and Tim Allen, continue to say that big government should stay out of the way of big business.  As a result, this means that more maintenance workers will be asked to sign non-compete agreements.  

               Is there a way  that this can be changed.  Well, the answer would be to leave it up to the people who live in the Washington State area.  They can call their representatives and tell them that they want non-compete agreements regulated.  If the representatives disagree, then the good people of Washington State can fire the people who are in office, which in this case is Republicans.  That is the only way that things will change.  

               In any case, people have a lot to think about when they say that they are outraged by non-compete agreements.  The truth is that as long as the government does nothing, then it will continue.   And one day, you could receive a memo from your company asking you to sign a non-compete agreement as well.  

Ron Hummer 

An Open Letter To Senator Steve Conway 29th Dist. – Tacoma, WA

Dear Mr. Conway: 

          I had spoken with a representative at Annette Cleveland’s office and they have urged me to send you an e-mail regarding the story in the Seattle Times about a maintenance worker from Servicemaster being put on a non-compete agreement.  

          As you can see, the reason that Benny Almedia was put on a non-compete agreement is because lawyers claim that he is getting training and gaining skills and that is the reason that he should be put on a non-compete agreement.  These skills in this case are the ability to clean floors.  

           I’m sure you can see through this and know that this is nothing more than an attempt by non-compete lawyers to game the system and go out of their way to put all employees on non-compete agreements for their financial gains since Mr. Almedia poses no threat to the company and would have no impact if he left the company and took that job for $21.00.  

             Unfortunately, non-compete agreements are common throughout the country today.  Employees at Subway, Jimmy John’s, Potbelly, and other fast food restaurants have their employees on non-compete agreements.  In addition, there are dog groomers, cat groomers, maids, and hairdressers on non-compete agreements as well. 

              The most disturbing piece of news is that a 16 year old teenage girl was also asked to sign a non-compete agreement in order to work in a summer camp.  That should tell you there there could be teenagers in your area who could have signed non-compete agreements as well without their parents consent.  I’m sure that you would not want to read a story in the Seattle Times on this if that were to be the case. 

              I hope that as a result of this, you will consider taking action which includes regulating non-compete agreements.  It’s obvious that non-compete lawyers and their clients have no regard to who signs a non-compete agreement and they don’t care if it causes embarrassment to your state.  

              If you’re on Twitter, you would see that there are people who are constantly commenting on this story.  Taking no action on this would mean that non-compete lawyers in your area will continue to game the system and take advantage of people like me who want to earn a living without a non-compete agreement that would be held over our head - an agreement that states that employees can be fired at any time for any reason and can’t work in the industry for 2-5 years.  These are the types of agreements that create a career of indentured servitude.  

              States like New Jersey and Maryland tried to pass legislation that stated that if an employee is fired and forced to collect unemployment benefits, then their non-compete would be invalid.  You can refer to bill A3970 in New Jersey for details on this bill.  

                You can also look at legislation in Massachusetts regarding limiting non-compete agreements for six months and outlawing non-compete agreements for lower level position such as fast food companies and maintenance workers.  

                 Below are the links to the articles.  I hope you will consider acting on this information.   By doing that, if you’re able to regulate non-compete agreements in your state, then other states could follow your example.  

                I wish you luck in this.  Thank you for reading this letter. 

Ron Hummer

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025004749_westneat12xml.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/07/01/noncompete/DJSb4Hl1kSyDzmD9sOv9NI/story.html

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/23823034/woman-fighting-to-work-at-another-restaurant-after-subway-enforces-non-compete-contract