3 ms·

Some contracts even give ownership of what you create on your free time to the company.

by tw1010 9y ago

Klathmon 9y ago
Which is illegal in some areas, even if your contract says it, so as always make sure you know your rights.
- narrator 9y ago
  In California employers can't claim ownership of work done off the clock[1]. Non-competes are also not enforceable generally in California[2]. [1]. http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/2870.html http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/2870.html [2].https://www.tradesecretsandtransitions.com/2017/01/california-further-restricts-employers-from-trying-to-enforce-non-compete-agreements/ https://www.tradesecretsandtransitions.com/2017/01/californi...
  - tw1010 9y ago
    Are non-enforceable non-competes a recent thing?
    - toast0 9y ago
      If you've been working in California for California employers, you've probably seen non-competes that prevent working for a competitor concurrently with that employer. I believe those are enforceable. What is often presented in other states is an agreement to not work for competitors that extends for maybe 6 months to 2 years after employment; that's not generally enforceable in California, except with some specific exceptions, generally around when a business owner sells their business. This has been the case for many years, through judicial review as well as legislation.
- burntwater 9y ago
  I'm curious what places would make the contract invalid considering the work is being done on-the-clock and likely on company equipment.
alkonaut 9y ago
I know it's common, but I can't imagine those often hold up in court (assuming the work was completely unrelated, no employer hardware, knowledge, hours etc were used).
- derekp7 9y ago
  In general, the contract is phrased as "Work that relates to activities and business that the employer is currently involved in, or may become involved in in the future". So if you work for a large company that has many businesses, almost anything you invent could be related to some area they are involved in. However enforcement is relatively rare. Edit: I found an article on Slashdot that I remember reading at the time, which scared the crap out of me. About a programmer that made a bunch of GPL code on his own time, but his employer stole it back. https://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/03/21/0139244/beware-employment-contracts https://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/03/21/0139244/bewar...

Some contracts even give ownership of what you create on your free time to the company.

by tw1010 9y ago

Some contracts even give ownership of what you create on your free time to the company.

Klathmon 9y ago

Which is illegal in some areas, even if your contract says it, so as always make sure you know your rights.

narrator 9y ago
In California employers can't claim ownership of work done off the clock[1]. Non-competes are also not enforceable generally in California[2]. [1]. http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/2870.html http://law.onecle.com/california/labor/2870.html [2].https://www.tradesecretsandtransitions.com/2017/01/california-further-restricts-employers-from-trying-to-enforce-non-compete-agreements/ https://www.tradesecretsandtransitions.com/2017/01/californi...
- tw1010 9y ago
  Are non-enforceable non-competes a recent thing?
  - toast0 9y ago
    If you've been working in California for California employers, you've probably seen non-competes that prevent working for a competitor concurrently with that employer. I believe those are enforceable. What is often presented in other states is an agreement to not work for competitors that extends for maybe 6 months to 2 years after employment; that's not generally enforceable in California, except with some specific exceptions, generally around when a business owner sells their business. This has been the case for many years, through judicial review as well as legislation.
burntwater 9y ago
I'm curious what places would make the contract invalid considering the work is being done on-the-clock and likely on company equipment.

alkonaut 9y ago

I know it's common, but I can't imagine those often hold up in court (assuming the work was completely unrelated, no employer hardware, knowledge, hours etc were used).

derekp7 9y ago
In general, the contract is phrased as "Work that relates to activities and business that the employer is currently involved in, or may become involved in in the future". So if you work for a large company that has many businesses, almost anything you invent could be related to some area they are involved in. However enforcement is relatively rare. Edit: I found an article on Slashdot that I remember reading at the time, which scared the crap out of me. About a programmer that made a bunch of GPL code on his own time, but his employer stole it back. https://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/03/21/0139244/beware-employment-contracts https://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/03/21/0139244/bewar...