Am I held to non-compete even though I never signed one?
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Am I held to non-compete even though I never signed one?
I currently work for company who recently lost their contract with the hospital I work at. I never signed a non-compete with my company but apparently my company and the hospital have a non-compete agreement. The new company that is taking over the the contract is offering me a position to work for them when they take over the contract at the same hospital. However, my current company is preventing me from getting the position because they are demanding money from the hospital if I work at that site. Holding me hostage My current company is not providing me with any other positions in the area I live and I am unable to relocate out of state. Can they do this to me?
and affect my livelihood?
Asked on June 20, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You are not bound by a noncompete agreement you never signed: a noncompete agreement is a contract, and like any noncompete, only binds the parties who agreed to (that is, signed) it. So you are not bound by it. BUT if the employer and the hospital have some agreement that that you cannot work at or do work for the hospital, etc., that agreement is enforceable against the hospital--they cannot hire employees of your current employer if they agreed to not hire them. (This, by the way, is fairly common: when company A provides services to company B, B often agrees to not hire or otherwise utilize, even as contract workers, A's employees.) You can work anywhere that does not have an agreement like this, so they are not stopping *you* from having another job--but can stop an individual business or company from hiring you or working at its location, if that company agreed to not hire employees of your current employer or have them work at it's location.
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