Non-compete Agreements (what Do They Mean/what Are They Worth?)

Speaking for myself, and I may have responded to this in another thread, but They won't hold up in court in the states that I have lived in, WV, OH, PA, NC, NJ-i did check

You must be a registered user to view images.

I was basically told, that if this was your main source of income, which it has been for 10 of my 27 years of coaching, and if it was something that was going to be pursued, which it never was going to be, except when i lived in NJ, the owner of the gymnastics facility really wanted to get us all out of coaching anywhere near this particular gym, which was no big deal for me anyway, I needed to move home to WV at the time anyhow, so it all worked out, then I had another experience where the Gym owners decided to not honor all of the contracts with FT employees, in western NC, I almost went after them, but chose not to, I accepted another offer from another program 4 states away, and again, it all worked out for me on this occasion too! One has to pay the mortgage, and child support one way or another wether you are a coach, teacher, corporate employee, I would imagine....

You must be a registered user to view images.

I have heard (and this is second hand so I don't know the validity) that there was a gym here that made their coaches sign a non-compete that encompassed the entire state. I thought that was a bit extreme. I know we're a small state and all, but it's still a good 3 hours from top to bottom.

1. I know in Missouri - They are not enforced. The state said that with the economy we are in - a job is a job.
2. Just quit showing up and get fired... end of contract

You must be a registered user to view images.

(most contracts)

@yojaehs and @wcdad

Again, the actual non-compete is EXTREMELY hard to enforce. The threat of a non-compete is much easier.

Most normal folks will fold as soon as someone hands them a letter from Lawyer & Lawyer attorneys at Law. A good attorney will make a normal person scared to death and they would stop coaching. On the flip side another good lawyer will rip the first lawyers letter to shreds. Seen it happen several times.

The threat of a letter from an attorney is usually the part of the non-compete that gets em.

In Maryland, they are enforceable.

I hear ya, I really do. But there is a simple way to avoid the threat, just don't sign it. Bc I don't wanna be stuck hoping and praying on the off chance that its just a "threat". I want to KNOW that I am in the clear.

That is correct, I just have one question though. What do you do if the company requires the non compete for employment?

The easy answer is to go work at another gym. But, in a lot of cases that's just not acceptable to the employee.

I respect you and your posts are very informative, however in this case I will disagree with you and nothing you can say will change my opinion. I have PERSONALLY witnessed a signature on a non-compete attempt to ruin a very close friends life. 10 yrs later he is still paying off court fees, loans to pay lawyers etc. He challenged it bc like all of us he thought "It won't hold up in court". His did, and was forced to work 50 mile min, and separate county away from his previous gym for 5 YEARS.
He started working as a friend of the gym owner (as most of us start), the owner started getting more and more greedy and making decisions to the point that my friend felt he could no longer be a part of that gym. He left the gym and started coaching at another gym which was 45 miles away (5 short of the agreement and in the same county) he was taken to court and forced to quit from that gym which he had been established and coaching at for 6 months and find another gym which he didn't like, nor was he familiar with any of the staff or the program but it was his only way of income and he had a son which he had to take care of.

Long response for me to basically say that YES they CAN hold up, the threat can be a promise. And to answer your question, to ME I would not work there. I have been coaching for 15+ yrs, I have a very good reputation of my loyalty and also what I am about, so IF I ever left my current gym (which I have been at for 6 years, without a contract signed) and looked to coach somewhere else, I would be completely up front with the fact that I would not sign a non-compete contract. I will continue to spread the word bc I think if more coaches would stand up for it then less gyms would do it. Sorry for the long post, but like the Universal Score Sheet, I feel very strongly about this.

I too have seen it work the exact opposite way. A person was given a "CEASE AND DESIST" order from an attorney representing the former employer. The employee was scared to death that he was not going to be able to work at the new gym. He retained a lawyer and with one quick letter the former employer went running off with tail between their legs.

As far as your friend goes, that is a very sad and unfortunate situation. I agree with you on the "don't sign the no compete", but, sometimes it just ain't that easy.

I've seen that too. I remember someone bragging about it years ago about how "they beat the contract". But I would recommend not signing.

It is rare that they are not held up in court. I have seem 100's where they have. Like it has been said before. do not sign if you are not ready to stand by it. The time to make changes is BEFORE it is signed.

Sales jobs have them. That is a main source of income. They need to have a time limit and miles clause inorder for them to be valid as well as the skill or product. It has to be spelled out. If the letter covers those points then it will hold up.

http://www.outtengolden.com/files/NonCompeteAgreements.pdf

This file has alot of good information about this issue.

AGAIN BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO AGREE TO IT IN MOST CASES.

It generally depends on the state laws. In Florida, it is a "right to work" state, which means most non competes will not hold up in a courtroom. A lot of companies still try to get employees to sign them though, but mainly as a "scare tactic" to keep them from going to competition. However, it is easy to argue that if you are in a specialized field (such as cheer coaching) and no longer wish to work for a specific company for a good reason, they cannot keep you from working in a field where you have experience, even if you signed a NC.

Best practice is to consult with a business attorney before you sign. However, I know that in MOST states it is difficult to enforce, so it may be better to just sign and not cause waves than to make an issue about signing. Most likely it will never be enforced because most owners aren't dumb enough to shell out the fees for an attorney to try to enforce it when it is a losing cause.

I always get a good laugh at some gyms who try to make parents (customers) sign NC. It's about as worthless as a stack of cow chips at a poker table.

Can a gym enforce a non compete if there has been a fundamental shift in philosophy, vision, staffing when the non compete was first signed? The holder has fundamnetally changed the way they operate which may make it no longer feasible for the employee to reamin in their employ. Would the gym still be able to enforce that? JW.

You've seen 100's of cheerleading coaches non-compete contracts held up in court?
Or have you seen them in general?

I've seen it hold up in Florida.

Case & County please... Florida is a "right to work" state, so if it held up, it was because either the person didn't fight it or they had a crappy atty. Working in the legal industry, I can assure you that in FL it doesn't hold water if you know your rights.

Again, depends on the state. In most states, with a good atty, it can be fought successfully. But if you have a gym owner that is willing to spend the legal money to pursue, it will cost you to defend.

what i don't understand is this.. if a coach signs a non compete which has outlines ...lets say it says you cant coach for 24 months within a 40 miles radius of gym A. The coach leaves Gym A today and goes to gym B tomorrow to coach 10 miles away. The coach also has a job during the day that has nothing to do with cheerleading. Would that hold up in court? even in a right to work state?Also if you sign a non solicitation agreement and you start recruiting kids from gym a via text messages,emails,phone calls, facebook, twitter.. all social media outlets... what happens with that?