You work for an employer. The employer has trade secrets and leads it wants to protect. It asks you to sign a non-compete agreement when you hire on. Most non-compete agreements provide that after you leave your job, you will not compete with your employer for a specified amount of time. Is that non-compete agreement
July 2009
It Must be Tough in Your Average Detention Facility
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
It must be tough in prison. Allen Stanford, the investor who stands accused of bilking his clients out of millions of dollars has filed a motion asking to be transferred from the Conroe detention facility to a downtown Houston facility. Seems the air conditioner at the Conroe facility has been out for a week. There…
Big Verdicts Require Big Salaries and Benefits
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
Half a million dollar verdicts are very rare in employment cases. As I have explained to many clients, the big dollar verdicts generally go to the clients with big lost income. CEO’s, doctors, etc. get the big verdicts because they lose so much money in salary and retirement benefits. So, it is no surprise that…
“Reasonable” Settlement Offers Lend Credibility
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
A lawyer friend had a client once who insisted on asking for $1.5 million to settle a discrimination case. The client did not make anywhere close to a six figure salary. He had lost very little income income. My friend the lawyer, tried and tried to describe to him the reality of low damage cases…
State Workers Lack Wage Protections
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Wage and Hour Issues
State workers have it rough. Yea, they have more job security than many private employees. But, if they are not paid in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, they cannot file suit against their employer. That was the result of the 1999 decision in Alden v. Maine. They also cannot sue their employer…
The (Few) Rights of Terminated Employees
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
For a good summary of the rights of Texas employees when they lose their job, see Aaron Ramirez’ post from last March. Note that Aaron makes no mention of the employer paying the employee for any accrued vacation or sick leave. An at-will employee, which includes most employees in Texas, has no right to…
Requiring Facebook Passwords Not a Winning Policy
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
The City of Bozeman, Montana will no longer require Facebook passwords as part of its application process, as reported in Delaware Employment Law blog. That was a risky decision. How many applicants would pass up this relatively large employer (in that neck of the woods) if they have to reveal too much. Too, the…
“Fight Club” Trial Starts
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
They are perhaps our most vulnerable citizens. We refer to them as developmentally disabled, today. We used to refer to them as mentally retarded. Whatever the name, they deserve better. Trial over the so-called fight club at Corpus Christi State School has started. Developmentally disabled function at many different levels. Some can live quite…
Time for a Vacation
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
I’ll be gone this week and next. No. 1 son, No. 2 son and I will travel to Yellowstone National Park. We have been to a couple of national parks and they have all been just excellent places to visit. If you don’t vacation sometime, I recommend that you do so. Even the smallest budget…
Public Employees can Make *Some* Comments about Their Job
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in General
You love your job. You love your job so much that you like to blog about it when you get home. But, what if your employer does not like your comments? A recent federal appeals court decision applies some limits to what you can say in your post. See Richerson v. Beckon.
The only reason…