

Amazon cloud sales chief sued for going Google - jusben1369
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57542018-92/amazon-cloud-sales-chief-sued-for-going-google/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

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jusben1369
Going to be hard to say you didn't want him and so offered him a severance
package but then complain on where he landed. $325K is not very much money for
someone agreeing not to go to a competitor for 18 months? Weird stuff.

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jivatmanx
You guessed it, a non-compete clause.

The ability to earn a livelihood is an inalienable right, and I don't
understand how it's legally enforceable to have a contractual clause that
negates that right.

A clause that one does not reveal confidential information though, is another
matter.

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aaronblohowiak
>The ability to earn a livelihood is an inalienable right, and I don't
understand how it's legally enforceable to have a contractual clause that
negates that right.

If I pay you $325k to sit on your hands for a year and you take a job
requiring you to clap all day, you're in breach of contract.. the fact is that
the employee is violating the terms of the __severance package __, not the
employment contract. I think there is a meaningful distinction here.

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sparebytes
Dumb question: was the non-compete signed when he began employment or when he
was let go?

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revertts
They're signed when you begin employment

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jusben1369
Very true. Although the answer can be "both". In this case it sounds like
there was some specific severance package negotiation and I suspect there was
a more specific non compete put in place for the exchange of $$'s

