N A Pickle
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?I'm in Georgia.
My parents are selling the family business in which I have worked, in various capacities, for 28 years. No financial gain will come to me from the sale, as I have no financial investment in the company. I'm cool with that.
I'm agreeable to the non-compete clause that prohibits me from contacting a list of our clients (to be attached as an exhibit to the non-compete document) for a period of two years. I mean, if I mess with the buyer's ability to make money, I may screw up their ability to meet the payment arrangements they've made with my parents.
The buyer says that I can't open up my own shop. No big deal; I have neither the desire nor the resources to do so. I dislike sales, too.
Furthermore, I am willing to disclose to potential employers the existence of a non-compete agreement. I would never tell an employer that I could bring the "so-and-so" account with me.(I want to be hired for my talents and skills, not for my contacts.
That said, two major issues prevent this sale from going through.
The first point that we can't get ironed out is the clause that prohibits me from "associating with or engaging in business with" any business that competes with [the name of our family business]."
This generic language makes me uncomfortable. It's too vague. Interpreted in the broadest sense, the clause would prohibit me from working in the industry altogether. Locally, I might be banned from employment by any business that provides a service similar to ours/the buyer's.
I want specifics. What can I do? What's a no-no? Tell me that I can't own a shop or invest in someone else's shop. If I want to freelance my design skills, who's fair game and who's off limits? If I get a design job with an ad agency and require the services of a business similar to what we once offered, does that constitute breach of contract?
A similar clause wants to control where I work in relation to that employer's clients. Briefly, I am prohibited from working anywhere that a former client of ours has taken their work. (Yeah, like I can control that.)
Other issues have entered my mind while composing this, to wit:
The buyer has offered me a temporary position as an independent contractor (at my current weekly pay) until the transition is complete, but once they've decided they don't need me, can I draw unemployment? If I were to quit my job now, before the sale is finalized, would I avoid having to sign the non-compete agreement?
I feel, too, that the buyer wants to severely cripple my ability to earn a living from home as a freelance designer; he's demanding all our computers (except the two I can prove I own), all copies of my single-user software (even though he has the same software with multi-user licenses), all fonts (despite his subscription to a library of over 8,000 typefaces) and digital resources.
Most of my software is registered in my name, not the name of our company, although the company did foot the bill. Am I legally bound to hand over software that's registered to me?
In consideration of my signature, I ain't gettin' jack. I will lose my job, my health insurance, and possibly the ability to earn a living with the skills I've acquired. At 44 years of age, with no college degree, my options are dwindling.
Could I use my consent as a bargaining tool and negotiate some sort of severance pay that would sustain me until I can find work in a different career? What if I asked for him to cover my tuition for technical training?
Thoughts, comments, advice on any or all above are welcome.
My parents are selling the family business in which I have worked, in various capacities, for 28 years. No financial gain will come to me from the sale, as I have no financial investment in the company. I'm cool with that.
I'm agreeable to the non-compete clause that prohibits me from contacting a list of our clients (to be attached as an exhibit to the non-compete document) for a period of two years. I mean, if I mess with the buyer's ability to make money, I may screw up their ability to meet the payment arrangements they've made with my parents.
The buyer says that I can't open up my own shop. No big deal; I have neither the desire nor the resources to do so. I dislike sales, too.
Furthermore, I am willing to disclose to potential employers the existence of a non-compete agreement. I would never tell an employer that I could bring the "so-and-so" account with me.(I want to be hired for my talents and skills, not for my contacts.
That said, two major issues prevent this sale from going through.
The first point that we can't get ironed out is the clause that prohibits me from "associating with or engaging in business with" any business that competes with [the name of our family business]."
This generic language makes me uncomfortable. It's too vague. Interpreted in the broadest sense, the clause would prohibit me from working in the industry altogether. Locally, I might be banned from employment by any business that provides a service similar to ours/the buyer's.
I want specifics. What can I do? What's a no-no? Tell me that I can't own a shop or invest in someone else's shop. If I want to freelance my design skills, who's fair game and who's off limits? If I get a design job with an ad agency and require the services of a business similar to what we once offered, does that constitute breach of contract?
A similar clause wants to control where I work in relation to that employer's clients. Briefly, I am prohibited from working anywhere that a former client of ours has taken their work. (Yeah, like I can control that.)
Other issues have entered my mind while composing this, to wit:
The buyer has offered me a temporary position as an independent contractor (at my current weekly pay) until the transition is complete, but once they've decided they don't need me, can I draw unemployment? If I were to quit my job now, before the sale is finalized, would I avoid having to sign the non-compete agreement?
I feel, too, that the buyer wants to severely cripple my ability to earn a living from home as a freelance designer; he's demanding all our computers (except the two I can prove I own), all copies of my single-user software (even though he has the same software with multi-user licenses), all fonts (despite his subscription to a library of over 8,000 typefaces) and digital resources.
Most of my software is registered in my name, not the name of our company, although the company did foot the bill. Am I legally bound to hand over software that's registered to me?
In consideration of my signature, I ain't gettin' jack. I will lose my job, my health insurance, and possibly the ability to earn a living with the skills I've acquired. At 44 years of age, with no college degree, my options are dwindling.
Could I use my consent as a bargaining tool and negotiate some sort of severance pay that would sustain me until I can find work in a different career? What if I asked for him to cover my tuition for technical training?
Thoughts, comments, advice on any or all above are welcome.