
Ask HN: Question regarding NDA/Non-compete - WilandOr1903
My employer wants me to sign an NDA&#x2F;non-compete that says I can&#x27;t work for company vendors. Is this common?
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dilipray
It complete depends on country.

If you are in India. NDA(exists), but it's worth as much as a paper. NCA
doesn't exist, Until you are using the existing companies properties(software,
hardware) which literally means stealing from one company and giving to
others. Until then it's not a crime.

It's good for India, because it's promoting the trade to the country and in
India we support good competition.

Government was against google when they were trying to dominate the virtual
advertisement by acquiring a small startups from India.

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hwstar
That's not an NDA. That's a non-compete. What state are you in? Some states
like California ban noncompetes (Sec. 16600 of the business and professions
code). Others allow them.

The reason companies ask you to sign a non-compete is not to protect company
secrets, it's more like they want to keep salaries down in an area.

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WilandOr1903
This particular document doubles as both an NDA and a non-compete. I did some
research, and it looks as if my particular state does allow for non-compete
agreements to exist.

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hwstar
What happens if you refuse to sign it? Is it: "sign or be fired?". Also if you
are in a financial position of strength, it may be advantageous and savvy to
fight it by not signing. This way you may be able to get the terms modified to
be less onerous. If they are presenting it like a contract of adhesion (sign
it as-is or be fired). Then you don't have much choice unless you can live
without employment for a while or move to a state with more employee-friendly
laws.

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WilandOr1903
Well, I honestly don't know...it was never explicitly presented as such, but
it was also not presented with an ability to negotiate.

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hwstar
I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not suggesting that I am, but you may want to ask
about the impact of not signing the non-compete as signing it will limit your
future employment opportunities. You may also want to talk to a lawyer in your
state. You obviously are concerned about signing this.

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codegeek
If non-compete is legal in your state, then you may have to sign it if you
want the job. However, make sure that the non-compete has a time limit which
usually should not be more than 12-18 months. This means that you may work for
the vendors once that period is over. Never sign open ended non-compete.

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pavornyoh
Yes it is common for an employer to ask you to sign a non-compete. For
example, an employee at Wipro who is working on a client's project say Pitney
Bowes cannot come work for Pitney Bowes directly on that same project. He /
She can get sued if there are agreements in place.

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WilandOr1903
Yes, I recognize it's quite common to sign a non-compete, my question was
specifically about whether it was common to include vendors in the agreement.

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pavornyoh
Yes, it is.

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apryldelancey
That depends on the industry, can you be a bit more specific?

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WilandOr1903
Unfortunately, I can't really be more specific other than to say it's in the
software industry.

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apryldelancey
Well, I have seen both cases happen where you have to and where you don't. In
some industries it is standard, others not so much because of the incestual
nature of that field. Perhaps ask others that you know in the same industry?

