The following is useful, general advice on what you can expect from a non-compete agreement
as a medical device candidate. I am not an attorney; I am a recruiter specializing in placing Medical Device, Molecular Diagnostics, Life Sciences, and CLIA Lab candidates. Please understand that this information
is based on my observations. You should seek a labor attorney's advice if you need assistance,
First and foremost, what exactly is a non-compete agreement anyway?
Update May 20, 2024: The Federal Trade Commission is banning non-competes. Please use our Non-Compete Chatbot to learn more.
Let’s get started!
What is a Non-Compete Agreement?
Essentially, a non-compete agreement keeps an employee from leaving their
workplace and becoming a competition, hence the name. For example, if you worked at
Company A, but go to work at Company B; you need to be careful not to stir up any legal trouble
for yourself. This is especially true if A and B are in similar fields.
If you work at Company B and bring customers over from A with you, you are violating the non-
compete for agreement. This is because Company A views this as you financially damaging them
by bringing customers to B -- they see it as funds they should have received.
In this case, you only violate the agreement if you financially harm your previous employer. However, there are other ways to break the non-compete agreement if you are not
careful.
Ways the Agreement Can be Broken
For your own sake, you do not want to violate the agreement. As long as you do not contact the
customers from Company A for a set amount of time, typically a year after you leave, you will be
clear to talk to them again as an employee from Company B.
This is because, after that year, you are no longer financially harming your previous employer-
meaning no legal repercussions. However, there are other ways to break the agreement you
need to watch out for! The most significant being data.
Stealing Electronic Data
In a non-compete agreement, there might be a mention of electronic data. Usually, it is
Company A telling you that you can not take their data or information with you when you leave.
You violate the agreement if you take data in a flash drive or on a company laptop and bring it
with you when your time working there is over. This is considered theft, and a judge will treat it
seriously.
Even if you delete the company laptop's data, an IT forensics specialist can check everything
you have ever done on the computer, including deleting files or wiping the disc's memory. You
can get into a lot of trouble for this, so be careful!
Non-Solicitations
This is another standard part of the agreement that you can accidentally violate. This happens
when you bring others who worked for you at Company A over to B. If you are actively
recruiting people to come with you, a judge will not make a favorable ruling for you.
Judges Might Throw out the Case
In many instances, the judge will let you go easy. Especially if the non-compete agreement was
too strict, or the company targets you when they do not do the same for others in similar
situations.
This can happen if Company A says you can not work at Company B for two years instead of 1,
or they decide you can never work in a similar field again.
However, if you violate the agreement despite your previous employer's requests not being too
strict, the judge will still handle the matter seriously.
Conclusion
In short, there are a few different ways that you can violate a non-compete agreement and find
yourself surrounded by legal trouble, including in the medical device industry. Never steal data or solicit other employees to change with you to a new workplace- it would not end well for you if the case came to court.