Flexibility: Unlike non-compete agreements , NDAs do not restrict employees from working for competitors or starting their own ventures. They focus solely on protecting confidential information, allowing individuals to pursue their careers freely.
While California imposes strict limitations on NDAs, they are still enforceable in specific scenarios. You can use NDAs to protect: Trade secrets, such as recipes, algorithms, or manufacturing processes. Customer and supplier information.
You are bound by whatever conditions you agreed to in the non compete contract. You can leave the job and likely still practice in your given field. The most common restriction is one of distance. So you cannot leave your current company and go across the street to work for a competitor.
Flexibility: Unlike non-compete agreements , NDAs do not restrict employees from working for competitors or starting their own ventures. They focus solely on protecting confidential information, allowing individuals to pursue their careers freely.
Exclusions: These are the types of information which do not need to be kept confidential. This might include public knowledge, previously disclosed details, or information someone knew before entering a business or financial relationship with a company or firm.
On January 1, 2024, California introduced a new statute that makes non-competes unlawful “regardless of where and when the contract was signed.” This law has produced new uncertainty for employers around the country, and, predictably, litigation has taken off.
A noncompete agreement has the ability to threaten your future job prospects, prohibit you from using your hard earned skills and compromise your livelihood. Fortunately, it is unlawful for an employer to enforce non-compete agreements in California.
Although non-competes are banned by California law, you can still have robust protections for confidential information and trade secrets. These provisions are critical and should be tailored enough to avoid being considered “de facto” non-competes.
Code §§ 16600, 16601, and 16602.5). The only exceptions are non-compete or restrictive covenants that fall within one of the narrow exemptions authorized by statute, all of which relate to the sale of the goodwill of a business, or of a substantial ownership stake in the business.
Although non-competes are banned by California law, you can still have robust protections for confidential information and trade secrets. These provisions are critical and should be tailored enough to avoid being considered “de facto” non-competes.