U
uppendowndadial
Guest
Read about it on AA. DOn't know any of the parties involved. Anyone have any comments or tidbits?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
I know a friend of mine in engineering atWSOC who was laid off and they didn't wave the non-compete for just that reason.As for Clear Channel I was all set to go to work for them part-time. It didn't pay much but it was something to do, I was unemployed at the time. In the big stack of paperwork there was a non-compete. I can see this for full time but not part-time. Everyone told me they couldn't hold me to it but I thought why sign something that only benifits the employer? Also if I sign something then I will stand by the agreement. CC would not wave the non compete so we parted company before I started. I didn't plan it but I ended up working for their competition.I don't think these contracts should be allowed, perioduppendowndadial said:
.If my memory serves correctly, in order for a non-compete to be valid in North Carolina, there has to be some substantial "consideration" provided directly with the agreement - in other words, some amount of money (like a bonus) attached to signing the agreement. Some have interpreted that to me - sign the agreemnt, keep your job. Courts have ruled in the past that that is not sufficient consideration. There is no way they could enforce it on part-timer. My guess is you were given the wrong package and the HR person doesn't know which end is up. When I worked for Clear Channel there were three different packages - one for programming, one for sales, and one for part time positions. The non-compete was NOT included in the part time package. Admittedly, that was a few years back.
That's what I thought too, but no. I asked, they went away and asked, came back and were very clear, to work part-time I had to sign it. They would not wave it. There was no bonus expressed or implied and they have more lawyers than I do! I didn't want to fight them in court over it later, Charlotte is home. IF I move it will be because I want to not have to. One of the other part-timers signed his because in his words "CC owns everything so who else are you going to work for?"The interesting thing is it covered both radio and TV. I didn't see any mileage stipulated either. The length was 6 months which isn't as bad as a year. However this was not a personality station, it was a music intensive read the liner card then shut up situation.We parted friends, the people at CC are good folks, many I have worked with before. They seem to like their jobs and are treated well. However for the money they were paying it wasn't that hard to walk away.
I always hear about how these non-compete contracts can't be inforced etc, etc. However I never seem to hear anyone say they fought it and won. Anyone here ever fight one of these things?
A
Art Sutton
Guest
Is this guy Jon Repp the same one who once did news on WBT?As far non competes, North Carolina, I think, just like South Carolina, is a right to work state. Non Competes are tough to get to stand up in court but the issue is usually it takes about $10,000 to defend yourself if the employer decides to get serious about it. That assumes that the non compete contract is written tightly and certain qualifiers are met. The rules vary from state to state. We have stations in three states, NC, GA and SC. The laws in NC are usually a little different than in the other two states. I've seen folks blink on both sides. The employer may decide...to heck with it if the employee decides to go ahead and work elsewhere...but with a large company, you set a precedent that can be used against you down the road....or the employee may decide not to push it.It's smart to find out before you take another job....if that's possible. Then again, perhaps someone should try to negotiate a release for some sort of compensation.I've had sales people I wished would go work for the competition and then I've had some I sure hoped didn't go across town. We're in small markets and the playing field is a little different but unless it was some unique circumstance like new owners,etc., I have not had the best of luck hiring a sales person from another station. We have had a lot better luck finding folks who had the personality to sell and then teach them the little bit we wanted them to know about radio!
i don't know a judge who will keep somebody from working...especially if they were let go and not severanced...i will not be surprised to see CC lose this..........judges like to keep people working.....people vote..corporations don't
How could it be legal? I know I have had non-compete clauses on contracts I have signed, but in Australai, it is considered a restraint of trade for some to have to sit out a non-compete. Basically, it is there to scare the inexperienced. Back about 4 years ago there was a rash of sacking from a station in Sydney, because they found that a start-up rival had been sniffing around at their talent. The guy's who were sacked, ended up over at the start-up, and weren't sued because they knew they would have won anyway. Since then, alot of the network talent has jumped ship to the new guys.
having been through this a few times., in various places..here's what i know.......if there is a substanial reward for signing ( cash, promotion, big account) you can be restrained from jumping ship.......if you signed it as part of your initial employement you won't be allowed to jump.if you are fired........then you have a good chance of working where you want....cc's lawyers aren;t stupid.....they know the difference....just cause the cc market manager said he talked to atty's doesn't mean he did..........i happen to know the local market is charged for it's own legal bills if the matter is referred to a local atty by corp.see how fast they back down when that happens........
U
uppendowndadial
Guest
Radiomayor: that's an interesting fact.Oh, and didn't Boozer have to sit out a NC a few years ago??Chuckie...you out there??
The other issue is that most companies won't consider hiring someone who has a non-complete. While the North Carolina courts are unlikely to uphold non-competes, challenging one can be expensive and no potential employer wants to take on the challenge and few of us "radio guys" can afford the fight it! That's why we have so many frequent use miles with U-Haul!
Thank you! My point exactly. I don't want to be a pain but I have never heard of someone beating a non-compete. Common sense tells us it's not fair. As we all know, life is not fair!XTalker said:The other issue is that most companies won't consider hiring someone who has a non-complete. While the North Carolina courts are unlikely to uphold non-competes, challenging one can be expensive and no potential employer wants to take on the challenge and few of us "radio guys" can afford the fight it! That's why we have so many frequent use miles with U-Haul!
they get beat a lot.........you get the right judge on the right day.....and they find for the employee.........ya gotta pick your fights though.....
I remember an incident that I thought was a real fiasco several years ago. WSOC-TV decided not to renew the contract for one of thier reporters, but they also decided to enforce the 1 year non compete.I always wondered about the legality of that because if the contract had expired and was not renewed, how was there a non compete? That seemed like it was intended as punishment for the reporter since they were in effect saying " We don't want you on our station anymore, but we also will not let you work for any other station in the area for a year. You must not work in your chosen profession for a year, or you must leave the area."If not legally wrong, it was certainly morally wrong.I also remember when John-Boy left WBCY, allegedly because of getting religion. Yet almost one year to the day later, he showed up with billy in tow over at WRFX "the Fox" with no qualms about religion. Rumor at the time had it that Fox paid John-Boy to sit out for a year, just to get him on thier station. No proof of that, just rumor is all, but it does make sense, and appears to have been a good business decision in hindsight it is true.
- Status