Yet the basis of a non-compete agreement is based on what could happen. We really don’t know if this will happen. Yet the important thing to remember is that Ann Curry is locked down at NBC until her contract runs out.
Putting this into perspective, with all due respect to Ann Curry and The Young Turks, let’s keep in mind that for employees like me and thousands of others across this country, we are at will employees and we can be fired at any time for any reason and we can’t work for a company in our industry for two years. Those employees also include reporters at Halifax Holdings, which has local newspapers in different parts of the country such as Georgia and Florida. Warren Stephens, owner of Halifax Holdings, bought 16 editions of the New York Times in December of 2012 and told all the reporters that they would have to sign a non-compete agreement that stated that they could be fired at any time for any reason and they can’t work at a newspaper, magazine, radio station, or TV Station, where Halifax has an office. If that isn’t enough, the stories that reporters work on would belong to Halifax Holdings.
Like it or not, Ann Curry doesn’t face that in her contract. Yet new reporters at Halifax Holdings have to face that. Maybe I should ask why the Young Turks don’t say anything about that contract. Maybe I should ask the Young Turks why a TV station didn’t cover this story when it came out in December of 2012. One reason could be that Warren Stephens supports the Republican party and he wanted Mitt Romney to be President. Yet your motive for talking about Ann Curry at NBC seems to be to embarrass NBC since you’re competing with them. In any case, I’m glad that these celebrity journalists have their priorities in order.
Let’s take that contract a step further. Those reporters not only lose their jobs when they’re fired from Halifax but in addition, they lose their stories. Those stories become property of Halifax Holdings. How about telling Ann Curry that she has to lose her stories and she can’t talk about them on CNN or any other station for that matter for two years. Maybe she can do a story on why teenage girls shouldn’t wear high heels if she is working at GMA. Yes, the Young Turks have nothing to say about that either. Yet these are the standards that new reporters have to live up to in order to work at Halifax Holdings.
Maybe if celebrity journalists like Ann Curry or the Young Turks had to live up to this contract like employees across America do, then we all might be singing a much different tune about decency in business.
Oh, since I don’t want to be biased, lets go back to another point in the Halifax Holdings contract. Yes, if you’re a reporter at Halifax and you’re fired, then those stories are the property of Halifax Holdings. Yes, the days of investigative journalism have changed, haven’t they. Where is Woodward and Bernstein when you need them? Is Bob Woodward getting ready to write another book on the White House? Or are Woodward and Bernstein going to spend another year waiting for the anniversary of Watergate so they can talk about Nixon while their colleagues are under lock and key from doing stories that belong to their publisher.
Let’s finish this chapter by mentioning a non-compete agreement that has even more bite that the last one. In fact, this could be the future of non-compete agreements.
In Utah, a group of cardiologists signed a non-compete agreement that stated if they went within a 50 mile limit from the hospital that fired them, then they would be fined $750,000. Yes, they would be fined $750,000 if they kept their practice within the 50 mile area. Look this up under $750,000 and non-compete agreements.
Do you think it’s possible that all employees could see this type of non-compete agreement coming down the pike? Why not, since this unregulated Tim Allen. How much do we fine a dog and cat groomer or a maid? Or that teenage girl who is a camp counselor? $50,000? $100,000?
How about attaching fines to celebrity journalists like Ann Curry? Two million dollars if she decides to violate her contract.
Yes, isn’t it great that the big government shouldn’t get involved in the business community Tim Allen. Don’t worry, I do have a chapter on this coming up also.
Chapter 4
Stealing Information
Yes, I’m sure that non-compete lawyers are really getting angry with me. I even have a chapter devoted to them coming up. I have a feeling that they’re going to be even more upset when that chapter is completed.
Yet, here I am, talking about stealing information. Yes, if you’re wondering why employees like me have to deal with non-compete agreements, I would tell you that the biggest reason is because for years, people stole information. And the worst part is that it continues today. You would think that employees would be bright enough not to do this but that isn’t the case. Yes, we have a lot of stupid, selfish employees who only care about themselves, and as a result, non-compete lawyers went ahead and punished people like me for their selfish acts. Yes employees, keep this in mind when you steal information in the future. Your selfish acts give justification to these greedy non-compete lawyers to say that all employees are nothing more than a bunch of crooks and this is the biggest reason that they should be non-compete agreements.
Don't worry, I will prove that this statement is true in the chapter on lawyers who specialize in non-compete agreements.
Irony can be very funny at times. It can pop up when you least expect it and when it does, it can be full of surprises.
In my case, the irony for me was that I wanted to get out of sales before my nightmare with non-compete agreements began. So I had gone to paralegal school for two years while I was working during the day in sales.
The irony comes in because during my last year, I had to do a legal brief. The Professor assigned us a case regarding a lawsuit between two Dentists.
In this case, two Dentists worked together for several years until one of them decided that they wanted to go on their own. Before he left, he went behind his former partner’s back and photocopied lists of the clients. Then, when he opened his own office, he sent out postcards to all the clients, letting them know he had his own office.
When the Dentist found out that his former partner sent out the postcards, he asked him why he would do that. His answer: they were my clients also. That’s when the lawsuit started.
In case you were wondering about my success in working as a paralegal, I would tell you that it was a complete disaster. Yes, I graduated and over a span of two years, I had three interviews.
During the first interview, I waited to see the lawyer for 45 minutes. The hiring manager came out and said that he would not be able to see me today. They would reschedule. Days later, I received a letter from him thanking me for applying for the job but they were not interested in going forward with my application due to my lack of experience.
Another time, I was supposed to be interviewed by someone at this law firm. My wife and I were going on vacation so I stopped in before going. The receptionist apologized because they didn’t look at my resume carefully because the job opening was for a receptionist.
Thanks to a Professor at the school though, I did have a real interview with a very large law firm. It lasted over an hour. I had my legal brief which I got an A on and we talked. I would follow up with this firm for a month to see if I got the job. They would never give me an answer so eventually, I gave up.
I’m not sure if this is where the real non-compete agreements started but cases like this justified the existence of it. It’s sad that people felt that it was okay to steal information but when this happens, it makes the non-compete lawyers happy and they get to say see, this is why we have non-compete agreements.
Many years ago, my mother-in-law hired a maid from a service. After a few weeks, Carol said to my mother-in-law, would you like me to work for you permanently? My mother in law said sure, why not. Carol said okay, go ahead and call the service and tell them that you don’t need me anymore.