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Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that are legally not allowed to make in their free time because the company they work for owns the rights to things the

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that are legally not allowed to make in their free time because the company they work for owns the rights to things they make, even if made fully using their own time. Or the company may forbid working on open source projects under fears of developers sharing ideas that said company believes they're entitled to. Until the law is changed so that companies don't own things developers make like that, there are many people that lose the motivation to make things in their free time.

alexis_fr 8y ago
I’m an entrepreneur, 2 employees. I may be running to my loss in theory, but by all means I help employees starting their side projects. It is much better to give them ideas for things where you know it won’t collide, and they come back knowing React and SQL. It has worked so far. A previous one has left for consulting gigs, after a few months trying his gigs under my umbrella company. That was the best « smooth transition », he saw for himself, I got a ~20% cut, and now he’s dying under paperwork to create his own company (we live in France, which explains why it would have been even harder for him to create his company when he was unsure he liked it), and I have set a nice example of « promoting » which helps me recruit. Employees are not owned. They were where I was 10 years ago. People change jobs. It’s part of the success of a career. They go through our companies but I’m tired of employers acting like their employees don’t exist after the end of their period or as if they owned property.
cellularmitosis 8y ago
The last time I was job hunting (in Texas), I brought a copy of California Labor Code section 2870 with me and made it clear that this needed to be part of my employment contract. If job hunting isn't realistic for you, at the very least you should have a serious conversation with your boss. The next time you are up for a promotion or a raise, hand them a copy of 2870 and say "that's nice, but this is what I really want". Print it out. Bring it up in your 1-on-1's. At the very least, make sure your boss isn't surprised as to the reason why you eventually jump ship. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=2870 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...
icedchai 8y ago
I have freely ignored these agreements in the past without any consequence. Once I got a "talking to" by a VP about my level of commitment. I also had one employment agreement claim I was not allowed to have any sort of side business. I disagreed, and actually sold services to my current employer while I was there. Many employers don't even know what is in their own contacts. It's boiler plate.
- Pfhreak 8y ago
  Who assumes the risk in this scenario? Hint: It's not the company you work for.
  - icedchai 8y ago
    This was in the past and there was not much risk. These days I freely disclose my outside endeavors before the offer is signed. It’s never been a problem.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  This sounds like an easy way to get sued if legal notices what you’re doing.
  - icedchai 8y ago
    First, they have to notice. Second, they have to care. Your activity would need to be above a certain threshold to make it worth suing you over.

alexis_fr 8y ago

I’m an entrepreneur, 2 employees. I may be running to my loss in theory, but by all means I help employees starting their side projects. It is much better to give them ideas for things where you know it won’t collide, and they come back knowing React and SQL. It has worked so far. A previous one has left for consulting gigs, after a few months trying his gigs under my umbrella company. That was the best « smooth transition », he saw for himself, I got a ~20% cut, and now he’s dying under paperwork to create his own company (we live in France, which explains why it would have been even harder for him to create his company when he was unsure he liked it), and I have set a nice example of « promoting » which helps me recruit. Employees are not owned. They were where I was 10 years ago. People change jobs. It’s part of the success of a career. They go through our companies but I’m tired of employers acting like their employees don’t exist after the end of their period or as if they owned property.

cellularmitosis 8y ago

The last time I was job hunting (in Texas), I brought a copy of California Labor Code section 2870 with me and made it clear that this needed to be part of my employment contract. If job hunting isn't realistic for you, at the very least you should have a serious conversation with your boss. The next time you are up for a promotion or a raise, hand them a copy of 2870 and say "that's nice, but this is what I really want". Print it out. Bring it up in your 1-on-1's. At the very least, make sure your boss isn't surprised as to the reason why you eventually jump ship. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=2870 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...

icedchai 8y ago

I have freely ignored these agreements in the past without any consequence. Once I got a "talking to" by a VP about my level of commitment. I also had one employment agreement claim I was not allowed to have any sort of side business. I disagreed, and actually sold services to my current employer while I was there. Many employers don't even know what is in their own contacts. It's boiler plate.

Pfhreak 8y ago
Who assumes the risk in this scenario? Hint: It's not the company you work for.
- icedchai 8y ago
  This was in the past and there was not much risk. These days I freely disclose my outside endeavors before the offer is signed. It’s never been a problem.
saagarjha 8y ago
This sounds like an easy way to get sued if legal notices what you’re doing.
- icedchai 8y ago
  First, they have to notice. Second, they have to care. Your activity would need to be above a certain threshold to make it worth suing you over.