We spend most of our time blogging about ways to get around unfair and oppressive noncompete agreements…and here is another tactic you might enjoy!
Illegal Conduct by Your Employer: That’s right! If your employer is engaged in illegal activity and requires you to do the same…you may just have a way to walk out of that job and out of that noncompete agreement. Examples are numerous: (1) a salesperson who is ordered to alter invoices to reflect higher prices than the consumer agreed to may be able to avoid his noncompete as the boss may be guilty of “unclean hands;” (2) a pharmaceutical employee may be able to escape a noncompete by showing she was subject to illegal racial and sexual harassment on the job; (3) how about the medical office worker who knows her physician boss wants the staff to change or alter patient medical or billing records; and (4) the office worker in the accountant’s office who is directed to take liberties with client records in such a way as to lower the client’s tax liability.
The lesson: If your employer is less than honest and your job places you at risk for legal responsibility for those acts of dishonesty….you may have a good argument to defeat the noncompete!