Imagine going to work for someone and one day, deciding not to work for them, only then to be threatened with a lawsuit by your old boss for simply trying to earn a living.

That's what a non-compete "agreement" does, if you're not familiar with them.

In Washington state some of the best and brightest future entrepreneurs are knocked out of the running by overused non-compete agreements that reinforce the wealthy and stifle startups.

Representative Derek Stanford is already making waves by introducing legislation (HB 1926) to make it tough for businesses to implement these overused agreements so broadly.  The bill already has the support of Seattle-area startup leaders including investor Chris DeVore, the managing director at Techstars Seattle, who has called for an end to non-compete agreements as a way of boosting entrepreneurial activity and the availability of tech talent.

"Taking away a person’s right to go find a new job – whether to take on more responsibility, or to get out of a bad situation, or whatever – is a tremendous demand which should never be regarded as just a standard contract clause"

But how about when an individual is terminated without cause, even in an at-will state?  This is an oppressive legal maneuver that some bosses try to use in order to force talented people out of a cornered market, or almost become their indentured servants: dare leave their employment, or even be terminated without cause, and they'll hound you and your future employers –even threaten to sue you and your new bosses – unless you abandon your profession until they decide that you are permitted to return to it.

The perception of these so-called "agreements" (often signed under duress) drastically shifts when the legally protected business interests of the employer don't exist.  It starts to resemble extortion when arbitrary numbers are demanded of you if you don't pack up and leave your community.

What happens when:

1. There are no trade-secrets or proprietary information by the employer to be protected? 
   
2. When the terminated employee surrenders their book of business to the company?
   
3. When operating in a different city isn't reasonable enough and good, honest, hardworking people are forced out of the community they've built their livelihood?
   
4. When employees are offered nothing in return for signing the "agreement"?
   
5. When employees are terminated without warning or write-ups, and company standard processes were thrown out the window?
   
6. When complying with the agreement would force these individuals out of their trade indefinitely?

These "agreements" start to look unjust relatively quickly in reading just a few of these bullet points. Recently contacted by geekwire.com about the legislation, Rep. Stanford explained that he has “heard too many examples of non-compete clauses being enforced arbitrarily and punitively, without any connection to a legitimate business need.”

It becomes obvious that these NCA's are something some bosses use to abuse people who are living paycheck to paycheck, giving them the ability to treat their employees terribly under threat of banishing them from the trade they're skilled in, a working person's means of staying clothed, sheltered, and fed.

It's excessive, unreasonable and it's evil. It needs to stop.

A young married couple, Joseph and Megan of Kirkland, are finding themselves in this situation now after being let go from their former place of employment as hairdressers. They want to build their own business, support themselves and be productive, but their former boss is on the attack and trying to wreck them for personal benefit, for their daring to try and earn an honest living in a community they've spent their entire careers building their livelihood. 

Two other bills (HB 1173 and HB 1577) introduced during the current legislative session also seek to limit non-compete agreements in different ways.

Rep. Stanford says the influx of legislation reflects “a surge of interest in this issue which has not been seen in recent years.” He adds, “With this level of momentum, I expect to see major reform either this year or next.”

If the bill is signed into law, he said, “workers will be free to move to a new job when they choose to, without the fear that their ex-employer will sue to keep them locked out of their profession. This will allow market forces to reward good employers, and it will let workers make rational choices about where they work.”

This is a great step forward for people who have a similar story. For Joseph and Megan, the reform cannot come soon enough, as lawyer fees continue to stack up in defending themselves from these immoral agreements. 

The question we should be asking is whether or not non-competition agreements help to advance innovation or stifle it...

If you're for the working individual being able to freely contract with any employer, for peaceful people to produce and trade with each other without harassment by fat cats, and for keeping the rungs of the ladder of opportunity within reach of all, please sign this petition. Simply sharing the story helps, if that's all you are able to do, and it is greatly appreciated.