Non-Compete Contracts for employers! Now I am out of work.

[Ace_King]

I worked for a mental health facility after I finished up my degree at TESC. Job required a bachelors degree. Good pay. I signed a non compete contract first day of employment. Worked for the company for a year! While I was working for the company, one of the competitors found my resume on career builder and offered me a managers position and higher salary and they told me do not worry about the non-compete agreement that I signed for Company A, and that it doesn't stand up in court. I took Company B's offer and left Company A, 3 months working for company B, Company A found out that I was working for Company B. Don't know how? Next thing you know, I get served for $75,000 for breaching a non compete agreement and said I gave trade secrets to Company B. Not only that, they hired a Private Investigator and had pictures of me in the documents! Lies, lies, lies from Company A regarding giving away trade secrets. I did not do anything illegal or try to give out any information to Company B. Anyways, Company B was nice enough to defend me using the corporate lawyer, and we still lost in court! However, the judge did tell me I did not have to pay the $75,000 judgement and to leave employment from Company B in a week's time frame, which I did. Now I am out of work, and I can't work for a mental health facility in two years in a 50 mile radius. The good thing about this was the judge threw the $75,000 grand judgement out. But now I am unemployed. I know it was my fault for signing a non-compete agreement and working for a competitor, but to be honest I didn't know it was even going to stand up in court and as well I did not know Company A would actually use the time, resources and money to sue me! I was just a average employee at company A! I was a nobody in that company! Anyways, just beware of non-compete agreements and careful when signing one, you don't want to end up like me!

By the way hi guys, I haven't been on in awhile! Hope all is well, just wanted to share my story!