As a child I knew my Mother, a Godly woman, believed in three things as being definitive sources of wisdom:
1. The Bible
2. Good Housekeeping Magazine
3. My Uncle Dwight
This was clear at even a young age. If Good Housekeeping printed it, or my Uncle said it, it was gospel. That was it. No questions asked.
Virginia employees, like my Mother, all have sources on which they rely. You may be a Washington Post disciple, or Slate.com fan, but where do you turn when you need advice, legal assistance and help in escaping a non-compete agreement?
I hope, you turn to a professional and not your cousin, a magazine or the Google.
Sometimes, the Google can be wrong.
For example. I googled the following: is VA a right to work state – can they make me sign a non compete?
And the Google lead me to this online forum where a few well meaning folks claimed to know the law on non-competes:
http://forum.fierceboard.com/threads/non-compete-agreements-what-do-they-mean-what-are-they-worth.16266/page-2
Guess what folks, the google is not always right. And neither is the guy on the above thread. And neither are journalists all the time, or well meaning friends who give you advice at a picnic.
If you need to know whether your agreement is valid, and how to handle that, call a professional. Or my Uncle Dwight. Or read Good Housekeeping. It works for my Mom.