4 ms·

A competent lawyer can fix this if your NY-based employer attempts to put such language in your employment agreement. Speaking from experience several times ove

A competent lawyer can fix this if your NY-based employer attempts to put such language in your employment agreement. Speaking from experience several times over.

btilly 9y ago
If there is no such language in your employment agreement, that is the default arrangement. I'm not going to bother having to get a lawyer to fix something that shouldn't be a problem in the first place. In California it isn't a problem. I'm firmly convinced that this fact is one of the reasons why Silicon Valley is in California and not New York.
- leroy_masochist 9y ago
  Silicon Valley is in California because of historical reasons related to a) US defense R&D spending following WWII and b) the 60's counterculture, not because of differences in each respective state's employment law. IANAL, but declining to hire a lawyer out of principle because you think that certain aspects of a given state's employment law "shouldn't be a problem in the first place" is really dumb.
  - btilly 9y ago
    Whatever the history, startups are fragile. Were California law different, it would definitely have a chilling effect on startups. As for hiring a lawyer, most of the people who really need to know this don't know up front that they should negotiate such terms. And most employees, including me, don't really want to start off a new job haggling over the contract. It really doesn't make a good first impression.
    - leroy_masochist 9y ago
      > And most employees, including me, don't really want to start off a new job haggling over the contract. It really doesn't make a good first impression. Important to note that this is not true. If you, say, have a side project and want to ensure that it remains your property after you join the company, and that you can keep working on it and keep having it belong exclusively to you, having a lawyer review the draft contract a potential employer sends with your offer is not going to piss off anyone you would ever want to work for. Companies that hire quality engineers are used to potential employees having lawyers, and do not get ruffled when those lawyers do their jobs. If they do, it's a major red flag.
- fourthark 9y ago
  Pretty sure you'll find the causation was the other way around.
  - btilly 9y ago
    Could be. I have no idea of the legislative history. But I am certain that it has done a lot to help maintain our startup culture.

A competent lawyer can fix this if your NY-based employer attempts to put such language in your employment agreement. Speaking from experience several times over.

btilly 9y ago

If there is no such language in your employment agreement, that is the default arrangement. I'm not going to bother having to get a lawyer to fix something that shouldn't be a problem in the first place. In California it isn't a problem. I'm firmly convinced that this fact is one of the reasons why Silicon Valley is in California and not New York.

leroy_masochist 9y ago
Silicon Valley is in California because of historical reasons related to a) US defense R&D spending following WWII and b) the 60's counterculture, not because of differences in each respective state's employment law. IANAL, but declining to hire a lawyer out of principle because you think that certain aspects of a given state's employment law "shouldn't be a problem in the first place" is really dumb.
- btilly 9y ago
  Whatever the history, startups are fragile. Were California law different, it would definitely have a chilling effect on startups. As for hiring a lawyer, most of the people who really need to know this don't know up front that they should negotiate such terms. And most employees, including me, don't really want to start off a new job haggling over the contract. It really doesn't make a good first impression.
  - leroy_masochist 9y ago
    > And most employees, including me, don't really want to start off a new job haggling over the contract. It really doesn't make a good first impression. Important to note that this is not true. If you, say, have a side project and want to ensure that it remains your property after you join the company, and that you can keep working on it and keep having it belong exclusively to you, having a lawyer review the draft contract a potential employer sends with your offer is not going to piss off anyone you would ever want to work for. Companies that hire quality engineers are used to potential employees having lawyers, and do not get ruffled when those lawyers do their jobs. If they do, it's a major red flag.
fourthark 9y ago
Pretty sure you'll find the causation was the other way around.
- btilly 9y ago
  Could be. I have no idea of the legislative history. But I am certain that it has done a lot to help maintain our startup culture.