[ptudan]

Makes a ton of sense. Completely absurd for security guards and administrative assistants to have non-compete clauses. Just another way businesses were trying to reduce the willingness of employees to quit so that they can suppress wages.

[DebtDeflation]

It jumped the shark a few years back when Jimmy Johns tried to force their "sandwich artists" to sign non-competes.

[Sohcahtoa82]

Does JJ refer to their employees as sandwich artists too? I thought that was just a Subway thing.

But yeah, beyond ridiculous, as if a JJ employee is going to leak some crazy trade secret to Subway or whoever.

[omginternets]

Jesus, “sandwich artist” is borderline insulting one’s intelligence.

In France, the official term for a janitor was “surface technician”, which I previously considered to be the most condescending name for a job, but it has been violently dethroned by “sandwich artist”.

[jasonwatkinspdx]

Believe it or not they're now being used for fast food employees.

[msrenee]

Petsmart makes you sign one or at least used to. For the groomers that they sent to training, it makes sense. For the cashiers, it ought to be illegal to have them sign it even though it's mostly unenforceable. It's an intimidation tactic. There's nothing that a damn pet store employee learns in training or in 5 years on the floor that could even begin to be considered a trade secret.

Reminds me of how Gallup made everyone sign a 6-month contract in an at-will state. If you want folks to stay for at least 6 months, then don't suck so much to work for. One of the cultiest places I've ever had the misfortune to work at.

[nraynaud]

What is a bit hilarious is the idea that the new guy will change any procedure at his new place because of his experience somewhere else. “Thank you, but it’s the franchise HQ who makes the rules, not the rank and file”

[lazide]

Admin assistants (like actual admin assistants) usually have access to full customer contact lists, and exposure to rather intimate details of the business and executives lives.

They’re definitely not comparable to security guards in that sense.

[toomuchtodo]

This is not enough of an excuse to encumber someone from earning a living elsewhere.

> “Employers need to get creative about how to impose restrictions to protect themselves against individuals” in whom they have made significant investments, or who have been allowed access to trade secrets, to protect themselves against such employees leaving, said Maxwell N. Shaffer, a partner with Holland & Knight LLP in Denver.

The sort of healthy employee-employer relationship that retains talent.

[ec109685]

There are already laws against Admin assistants from taking full customer contact lists from one job to another. You don't need non-competes to enforce that.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

There are already laws against taking trade secrets/proprietary information, and using it elsewhere.

You go to jail for that. It's called "theft."

My company had us sign a ridiculous NCA. It pretty much made it impossible to get a job anywhere, after leaving the company; even if they fired you, or laid you off.

Their description of a "competitor" was so vague, that it could, literally, be applied to a 7-11, as they potentially sold peripherals that could be plugged into our devices.

[jaxn]

Every admin assistant should be under an NDA / Confidentiality agreement. Same for personal security. But those are not non-competes.