Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!we13!ihnp4!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!Fahlman@CMU-CS-C.ARPA From: Fahlman@CMU-CS-C.ARPA Newsgroups: net.ai Subject: Non-competition clauses Message-ID: <12212@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Sun, 8-Apr-84 15:21:00 EST Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12212 Posted: Sun Apr 8 15:21:00 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 17-Apr-84 08:35:33 EST Lines: 35 From: Scott E. Fahlman Recently a student of mine applied for a position with one of the new AI companies (I'd rather not say which one) and received what he considers to be a very attractive offer. Unfortunately, there is one problem that will probably prevent him from accepting the job: the company requires him to sign an agreement that if he leaves that company for any reason, he will not compete with them or work for any competitive business for a period of three years. In order to keep this agreement in effect, the company would have to continue to pay him his salary, minus any money he makes from other employment or consulting. Since this company defines its business as AI and AI tools in a very broad sense, this means that they could force the former employee to stay completely out of the field of AI for three whole years if he leaves them -- an eternity in this field. I've heard of companies that require you to promise not to use any proprietary knowledge on behalf of your next employer (or anyone else), but I've never heard of an agreement like this one. Since the penalty for leaving is potentially so high (you get a salary for doing nothing, but are effectively prohibited from practicing your chosen profession for a period of time that is long enough for you to go completely stale), it looks to me like they are trying to make you sign up with them for life -- at their option, of course. This company seems to think that this agreement is a perfectly routine matter and that many companies in AI have similar requirements. Is this true? Is this sort of thing spreading? Have people out there actually signed agreements of this sort? Are they legally enforceable? Unless I hear otherwise, I'm going to consider this as an isolated case of institutional paranoia on the part of this one company, and will steer my students away from that company in the future. If everyone is doing it, that is much more alarming. -- Scott Fahlman, CMU