All-Star Non-compete Agreements (what Do They Mean/what Are They Worth?)

[wcdad]

I too have seen it work the exact opposite way. A person was given a "CEASE AND DESIST" order from an attorney representing the former employer. The employee was scared to death that he was not going to be able to work at the new gym. He retained a lawyer and with one quick letter the former employer went running off with tail between their legs.

As far as your friend goes, that is a very sad and unfortunate situation. I agree with you on the "don't sign the no compete", but, sometimes it just ain't that easy.

It is rare that they are not held up in court. I have seem 100's where they have. Like it has been said before. do not sign if you are not ready to stand by it. The time to make changes is BEFORE it is signed.

 

[wcdad]

Sales jobs have them. That is a main source of income. They need to have a time limit and miles clause inorder for them to be valid as well as the skill or product. It has to be spelled out. If the letter covers those points then it will hold up.

 

[wcdad]

http://www.outtengolden.com/files/NonCompeteAgreements.pdf

This file has alot of good information about this issue.

AGAIN BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO AGREE TO IT IN MOST CASES.

 

[John Butler]

It generally depends on the state laws. In Florida, it is a "right to work" state, which means most non competes will not hold up in a courtroom. A lot of companies still try to get employees to sign them though, but mainly as a "scare tactic" to keep them from going to competition. However, it is easy to argue that if you are in a specialized field (such as cheer coaching) and no longer wish to work for a specific company for a good reason, they cannot keep you from working in a field where you have experience, even if you signed a NC.

Best practice is to consult with a business attorney before you sign. However, I know that in MOST states it is difficult to enforce, so it may be better to just sign and not cause waves than to make an issue about signing. Most likely it will never be enforced because most owners aren't dumb enough to shell out the fees for an attorney to try to enforce it when it is a losing cause.

I always get a good laugh at some gyms who try to make parents (customers) sign NC. It's about as worthless as a stack of cow chips at a poker table.

 

[tumbleyoda]

Can a gym enforce a non compete if there has been a fundamental shift in philosophy, vision, staffing when the non compete was first signed? The holder has fundamnetally changed the way they operate which may make it no longer feasible for the employee to reamin in their employ. Would the gym still be able to enforce that? JW.

 

[socratesofcheer]

It is rare that they are not held up in court. I have seem 100's where they have. Like it has been said before. do not sign if you are not ready to stand by it. The time to make changes is BEFORE it is signed.

You've seen 100's of cheerleading coaches non-compete contracts held up in court?
Or have you seen them in general?

 

[yojaehs]

It generally depends on the state laws. In Florida, it is a "right to work" state, which means most non competes will not hold up in a courtroom. A lot of companies still try to get employees to sign them though, but mainly as a "scare tactic" to keep them from going to competition. However, it is easy to argue that if you are in a specialized field (such as cheer coaching) and no longer wish to work for a specific company for a good reason, they cannot keep you from working in a field where you have experience, even if you signed a NC.

Best practice is to consult with a business attorney before you sign. However, I know that in MOST states it is difficult to enforce, so it may be better to just sign and not cause waves than to make an issue about signing. Most likely it will never be enforced because most owners aren't dumb enough to shell out the fees for an attorney to try to enforce it when it is a losing cause.

I always get a good laugh at some gyms who try to make parents (customers) sign NC. It's about as worthless as a stack of cow chips at a poker table.

I've seen it hold up in Florida.

 

[John Butler]

I've seen it hold up in Florida.

Case & County please... Florida is a "right to work" state, so if it held up, it was because either the person didn't fight it or they had a crappy atty. Working in the legal industry, I can assure you that in FL it doesn't hold water if you know your rights.

 

[John Butler]

Can a gym enforce a non compete if there has been a fundamental shift in philosophy, vision, staffing when the non compete was first signed? The holder has fundamnetally changed the way they operate which may make it no longer feasible for the employee to reamin in their employ. Would the gym still be able to enforce that? JW.

Again, depends on the state. In most states, with a good atty, it can be fought successfully. But if you have a gym owner that is willing to spend the legal money to pursue, it will cost you to defend.

 

[krissycole44]

what i don't understand is this.. if a coach signs a non compete which has outlines ...lets say it says you cant coach for 24 months within a 40 miles radius of gym A. The coach leaves Gym A today and goes to gym B tomorrow to coach 10 miles away. The coach also has a job during the day that has nothing to do with cheerleading. Would that hold up in court? even in a right to work state?Also if you sign a non solicitation agreement and you start recruiting kids from gym a via text messages,emails,phone calls, facebook, twitter.. all social media outlets... what happens with that?

 

[wcdad]

You've seen 100's of cheerleading coaches non-compete contracts held up in court?
Or have you seen them in general?

In sales. Where the job is the sole sorce of income. If I sell resturant equiptment and supplies and I signed a NC that states I can not sell any equiptment or supplies in the state of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ for 1 year, Than for one year I can not sell in that state. I can however sell food to my old customers. It would be up to me at the start of my employment to make sure that I was ok with the terms of the NC. If they were not we would have a meeting to iron out the details.

Please read the link I posted. If there is a length of time, and a distance written in most cases it will hold up in cort and they are being up held in right to work states.

http://www.outtengolden.com/files/NonCompeteAgreements.pdf

 

[wcdad]

what i don't understand is this.. if a coach signs a non compete which has outlines ...lets say it says you cant coach for 24 months within a 40 miles radius of gym A. The coach leaves Gym A today and goes to gym B tomorrow to coach 10 miles away. The coach also has a job during the day that has nothing to do with cheerleading. Would that hold up in court? even in a right to work state?Also if you sign a non solicitation agreement and you start recruiting kids from gym a via text messages,emails,phone calls, facebook, twitter.. all social media outlets... what happens with that?

A good NC will also have a Non-Solicitation of Customers and Employees as well as a Non Disclosure of Confidential Information clause in it to stop this from happining.

 

[wcdad]

It generally depends on the state laws. In Florida, it is a "right to work" state, which means most non competes will not hold up in a courtroom. A lot of companies still try to get employees to sign them though, but mainly as a "scare tactic" to keep them from going to competition. However, it is easy to argue that if you are in a specialized field (such as cheer coaching) and no longer wish to work for a specific company for a good reason, they cannot keep you from working in a field where you have experience, even if you signed a NC.

Best practice is to consult with a business attorney before you sign. However, I know that in MOST states it is difficult to enforce, so it may be better to just sign and not cause waves than to make an issue about signing. Most likely it will never be enforced because most owners aren't dumb enough to shell out the fees for an attorney to try to enforce it when it is a losing cause.

I always get a good laugh at some gyms who try to make parents (customers) sign NC. It's about as worthless as a stack of cow chips at a poker table.

Florida law does allow a NC rigt to work or not. It has to be signed and of reasonable terms.

C. The 1996 Amendment to The Florida Anti Trust Act

Currently any Florida employer who wishes to draft an effective covenant to prevent an employee from competing with it or using the employer’s confidential information to benefit another enterprise must now do so with reference to F.S.§542.335. Effective on July 1, 1996, F.S.§542.332 was repealed and the 1996 amendment took effect. The repeal was prospective only. Enforcement of prior non-compete agreements will be based on the law in effect on the date they were entered
into.

The 1996 amendment retains much that is in the prior statutes and the case law interpreting them, while setting forth some more specific standards for enforcement. The new statute specifically requires the covenant to be in writing and signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought. The requirement of reasonableness as to time and area is retained, with requirement of reasonableness as to line of business specifically included. Any restriction of six months or less against a former employee’s competing with the employer is presumed reasonable and any restriction of more than two years is presumed unreasonable. Restrictions "... predicated on the protection of trade secrets" are presumed to be reasonable if they are of five year or less duration and unreasonable if they exceed ten years. These are rebuttable presumptions which can be overridden by evidence showing lack of reasonableness.

More about Florida NC

http://www.floridamediation.com/art...ployee_non-compete_agreements_in_florida.html

 

[socratesofcheer]

In sales. Where the job is the sole sorce of income. If I sell resturant equiptment and supplies and I signed a NC that states I can not sell any equiptment or supplies in the state of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ for 1 year, Than for one year I can not sell in that state. I can however sell food to my old customers. It would be up to me at the start of my employment to make sure that I was ok with the terms of the NC. If they were not we would have a meeting to iron out the details.

Fair enough, but, this discussion is about a cheerleading coach. I completely understand sales, in my experience cheerleading doesn't get looked at the same as a salesman. A good business attorney can demolish a NC in a heartbeat. (at least in my state)

 

[yojaehs]

My question is what does an NC do FOR the employee? I mean basically all it is doing is protecting the Owner. Why would an employee sign one with no benefit to them? I guess I see this business as a lot of research and do your homework (both owners and employees) sit down talk things out and if it works for the both of you then good, if not, move on. I understand why an owner would want to have an employee that they DON'T TRUST sign one, so they don't lose kids, but if you as an owner have a quality product you might lose a kid here or there but you should survive. If you build your business based on one instructor, your in trouble anyway regardless of if they sign one or not. Yes, I'm sure someone will point out a positive or two but for the most part I just think they are a problem in the Cheer World, there should be no place for an NC in Cheer, JMO and I'm done.