Non-Compete Agreements: An Employee Perspective. Ron Hummer

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СКАЧАТЬ So much for investigative journalism. I’m just an employee on a non-compete agreement. Who am I to tell Matt Lauer what questions to ask.

      Here is another important point regarding these non-compete contracts for celebrity journalists. Now if you remember, Ann Curry lost her position on the Today Show to Savannah Guthrie because the ratings were down and she was blamed for this. In January of last year, Ann had asked to be released from her contract at NBC so she could work at CNN. NBC is refusing to do this. Yes, this was news and some publications picked this up. More exciting to read about this than thousands of employees like me who can be fired at any time for any reason and can’t work in the industry for 2-5 years.

      Now if you catch the Young Turks video on this subject, you would see that they criticize NBC for doing this. They said that the decent thing for NBC to do is to let her go from her contract. It’s not like she can quit because if she does, then she could not work at another network until her contract is up. So she needs to finish out her contract before she works at another station like CNN.

      Of course, the Young Turks continue to say that they understand the reason why it is necessary for NBC to have this contract. The reason is that if Ms. Curry wasn’t under contract, then she could screw NBC whenever she wants and would work for GMA . Not sure I understand the logic behind that since she was blamed for NBC’s loss in ratings but who am I to make sense of non-compete agreements and the things celebrity journalists talk about.

      Obviously, I disagree with everything the Young Turks said. Here’s why.

      Let’s say that Ann Curry wasn’t under a non-compete agreement. So, she leaves the station on her own and goes to work for CNN. Now, what guarantee do you have that their ratings will go up as a result of her joining this station. None. We really don’t know what will happen if she joins CNN or GMA. For all we know, it could be a bust like when Katie Couric left NBC to go to CBS. Again, where is the logic as to how the ratings will improve at CNN and GMA when she was blamed for losing ratings at NBC.

      Of course, a non-compete lawyer will argue that Ann Curry is getting a reward for her non-compete agreement which is a salary of $12 million dollars a year. NBC is entitled to have stipulations in her contract as a result of this in order to protect themselves. I’m sure one of them could have been a firing clause in the contact that would prevent Ms. Curry from working at a network for two years yet this doesn’t seem to be mentioned or that this contract is up sometime in 2014. It will take a few clicks on the Internet but it’s there. So much for decency in business today.

      Yet the basis of a non-compete agreement is based on what could happen. We really don’t know if this will happen. Yet the important thing to remember is that Ann Curry is locked down at NBC until her contract runs out.

      Putting this into perspective, with all due respect to Ann Curry and The Young Turks, let’s keep in mind that for employees like me and thousands of others across this country, we are at will employees and we can be fired at any time for any reason and we can’t work for a company in our industry for two years. Those employees also include reporters at Halifax Holdings, which has local newspapers in different parts of the country such as Georgia and Florida. Warren Stephens, owner of Halifax Holdings, bought 16 editions of the New York Times in December of 2012 and told all the reporters that they would have to sign a non-compete agreement that stated that they could be fired at any time for any reason and they can’t work at a newspaper, magazine, radio station, or TV Station, where Halifax has an office. If that isn’t enough, the stories that reporters work on would belong to Halifax Holdings.

      Like it or not, Ann Curry doesn’t face that in her contract. Yet new reporters at Halifax Holdings have to face that. Maybe I should ask why the Young Turks don’t say anything about that contract. Maybe I should ask the Young Turks why a TV station didn’t cover this story when it came out in December of 2012. One reason could be that Warren Stephens supports the Republican party and he wanted Mitt Romney to be President. Yet your motive for talking about Ann Curry at NBC seems to be to embarrass NBC since you’re competing with them. In any case, I’m glad that these celebrity journalists have their priorities in order.

      Let’s take that contract a step further. Those reporters not only lose their jobs when they’re fired from Halifax but in addition, they lose their stories. Those stories become property of Halifax Holdings. How about telling Ann Curry that she has to lose her stories and she can’t talk about them on CNN or any other station for that matter for two years. Maybe she can do a story on why teenage girls shouldn’t wear high heels if she is working at GMA. Yes, the Young Turks have nothing to say about that either. Yet these are the standards that new reporters have to live up to in order to work at Halifax Holdings.

      Maybe if celebrity journalists like Ann Curry or the Young Turks had to live up to this contract like employees across America do, then we all might be singing a much different tune about decency in business.

      Oh, since I don’t want to be biased, lets go back to another point in the Halifax Holdings contract. Yes, if you’re a reporter at Halifax and you’re fired, then those stories are the property of Halifax Holdings. Yes, the days of investigative journalism have changed, haven’t they. Where is Woodward and Bernstein when you need them? Is Bob Woodward getting ready to write another book on the White House? Or are Woodward and Bernstein going to spend another year waiting for the anniversary of Watergate so they can talk about Nixon while their colleagues are under lock and key from doing stories that belong to their publisher.

      Let’s finish this chapter by mentioning a non-compete agreement that has even more bite that the last one. In fact, this could be the future of non-compete agreements.

      In Utah, a group of cardiologists signed a non-compete agreement that stated if they went within a 50 mile limit from the hospital that fired them, then they would be fined $750,000. Yes, they would be fined $750,000 if they kept their practice within the 50 mile area. Look this up under $750,000 and non-compete agreements.

      Do you think it’s possible that all employees could see this type of non-compete agreement coming down the pike? Why not, since this unregulated Tim Allen. How much do we fine a dog and cat groomer or a maid? Or that teenage girl who is a camp counselor? $50,000? $100,000?

      How about attaching fines to celebrity journalists like Ann Curry? Two million dollars if she decides to violate her contract.

      Yes, isn’t it great that the big government shouldn’t get involved in the business community Tim Allen. Don’t worry, I do have a chapter on this coming up also.

      Chapter 4

      Stealing Information

      Yes, I’m sure that non-compete lawyers are really getting angry with me. I even have a chapter devoted to them coming up. I have a feeling that they’re going to be even more upset when that chapter is completed.

      Yet, here I am, talking about stealing information. Yes, if you’re wondering why employees like me have to deal with non-compete agreements, I would tell you that the biggest reason is because for years, people stole information. And the worst part is that it continues today. You would think that employees would be bright enough not to do this but that isn’t the case. Yes, we have a lot of stupid, selfish employees who only care about themselves, and as a result, non-compete lawyers went ahead and punished people like me for their selfish acts. Yes employees, keep this in mind when you steal information in the future. Your selfish acts give justification to these greedy non-compete lawyers to say that all employees are nothing more than a bunch of crooks and this is the biggest reason that they should be non-compete agreements.

      Don't worry, I will prove that this statement is true in the chapter on lawyers who specialize in non-compete agreements.

      Irony СКАЧАТЬ