4 ms·

So if you move out of Florida after you leave your job, can you escape the restriction?

lokar 1y ago
Yes. I moved from NY to CA, and that made it non-enforceable. But, at least for Eng types with higher TC a bunch of the comp is deferred, and if you breach the agreement you forfeit the money.
- dhussoe 1y ago
  What do you mean by "deferred" here? I'm a fairly high level IC at a big tech company (high TC), but it's only "deferred" in the sense of more of the TC being in RSUs (over 80%) with less frequent vesting vs. biweekly salary paychecks. But if you leave, you're already forfeiting future vests anyways.
  - lokar 1y ago
    Hedge funds don’t pay in stock. So they often take part of your cash bonus (which is what you would have made in RSU vesting) and put it into the fund. You get it back out in a few years.
- No1 1y ago
  I’m curious if you consulted with an attorney about that? I’ve heard the opposite from people looking to move from Chicago to CA. Does your former employer have a nexus in CA? Using Florida as an example, if your contract was signed in Florida, your former employer is in Florida, and your case is tried in Florida, the courts aren’t going to pay any regard to California law, and you can be found liable for breach of contract and damages. Correct me if I’m wrong.
  - lokar 1y ago
    The agreements don’t have damages (other than the loss of deferred compensation as I noted). The normal way to use the agreement is to seek injunctive relief. That would have the be in CA, where no judge will allow it. And they did informally confirm they could not prevent me of taking a competitive job, which my employment lawyer confirmed.
  - OkayPhysicist 1y ago
    SB 699 (passed in 2024) made noncompetes illegal to enforce against against California workers, regardless of where the noncompete was signed. It's very unambiguous on the topic. However, as you correctly pointed out, that involves getting your case in front of a California judge, which you best bet the company suing you for violation of your noncompete is going to do their damndest to avoid. However, under the wording of SB 699, even if you get sued for violating your noncompete in, say, Michigan, and lose, you can then sue that company, in California courts, and as long as California has jurisdiction (which they probably do, given most businesses don't completely avoid doing business in the largest economy in the country), you can successfully sue them for suing you over the noncompete.
OkayPhysicist 1y ago
Generally, probably not. The federal courts have not been a fan of California's noncompete ban specifically including those signed out of state. But if you can find some way to force the case into California courts, then yes.

Yes. I moved from NY to CA, and that made it non-enforceable. But, at least for Eng types with higher TC a bunch of the comp is deferred, and if you breach the agreement you forfeit the money.

dhussoe 1y ago
What do you mean by "deferred" here? I'm a fairly high level IC at a big tech company (high TC), but it's only "deferred" in the sense of more of the TC being in RSUs (over 80%) with less frequent vesting vs. biweekly salary paychecks. But if you leave, you're already forfeiting future vests anyways.
- lokar 1y ago
  Hedge funds don’t pay in stock. So they often take part of your cash bonus (which is what you would have made in RSU vesting) and put it into the fund. You get it back out in a few years.
No1 1y ago
I’m curious if you consulted with an attorney about that? I’ve heard the opposite from people looking to move from Chicago to CA. Does your former employer have a nexus in CA? Using Florida as an example, if your contract was signed in Florida, your former employer is in Florida, and your case is tried in Florida, the courts aren’t going to pay any regard to California law, and you can be found liable for breach of contract and damages. Correct me if I’m wrong.
- lokar 1y ago
  The agreements don’t have damages (other than the loss of deferred compensation as I noted). The normal way to use the agreement is to seek injunctive relief. That would have the be in CA, where no judge will allow it. And they did informally confirm they could not prevent me of taking a competitive job, which my employment lawyer confirmed.
- OkayPhysicist 1y ago
  SB 699 (passed in 2024) made noncompetes illegal to enforce against against California workers, regardless of where the noncompete was signed. It's very unambiguous on the topic. However, as you correctly pointed out, that involves getting your case in front of a California judge, which you best bet the company suing you for violation of your noncompete is going to do their damndest to avoid. However, under the wording of SB 699, even if you get sued for violating your noncompete in, say, Michigan, and lose, you can then sue that company, in California courts, and as long as California has jurisdiction (which they probably do, given most businesses don't completely avoid doing business in the largest economy in the country), you can successfully sue them for suing you over the noncompete.

OkayPhysicist 1y ago

Generally, probably not. The federal courts have not been a fan of California's noncompete ban specifically including those signed out of state. But if you can find some way to force the case into California courts, then yes.