Aaron wrote: > A not-so-hypothetical scenario... it the middle of your 3rd week on a > new job -- which you really like and enjoy. Now the HR guy comes to > by, hands you a couple sheets of paper, and says to review this > Non-Disclosure, Non-Compete, and Inventions Agreement that he forgot > to mention and have you sign. It all depends on whether *you* can live with the restrictions, given the compensation you are receiving. Also keep in mind that this indicates that they were negotiating with you in bad faith, and decide whether you can live with that as well. For *me*, and something like this did happen to me once, it is too restrictive. I managed to "forget" to sign the thing until they eventually stopped asking. But I had been with the company for quite a few years -- it was the management that had changed as a result of acquisition -- and I had already proved my worth to the company. Don't forget that this is still a two-way negotiation; this document *can* be modified before you (and they) sign it. (Be sure to retain a signed copy!) They'll kick and scream, of course, but stick to your guns. The Inventions part doesn't look too bad, except for the phrase, "... or in which the Company may be interested, ...". This is hopelessly vague, probably unenforcable, and should be struck from the agreement. > "It is the intent of the Company that the Employee's sole remuneration > be for services rendered on behalf of the Company; it is not in the > Company's interest for upper-level employees to "moonlight." That's nice, but I get money for things that I do other than engineering. (I'm an amateur musician.) At a minimum, the renumeration would have to cover the loss of such income. But I doubt that I'd want to give up that part of my life for the duration. Although I have learned that non-compete agreements are enforceable in most circumstances (despite rumors to the contrary), I don't agree with them in principle. If their non-disclosure agreement isn't strong enough, then they have to live with the consequences of that. Or else they should be prepared to replace the lost income if I can't find a non-competing job! -- Dave Tweed -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist