I would be careful trying too hard to fit anything at all through that loophole though, as I'm pretty sure in California, companies that push employees to sign non-compete agreements that are deemed unenforceable (which is objectively most non-competes in California), may be subject to statutory damages and may wind up getting summarily owned in the countersuit.
I have no source for this and I am not a lawyer (but nobody knows you're a dog on the internet...) – if anyone knows more about this than I do, I'll happily read and be glad to learn something, but this is a subject I've read a bit about.
OK, actually, it wasn't that hard to find a citation:
You still have strong protections as an employer against "unfair competition" but you are better off not trying to pass any non-compete agreement to your employees, as you may be on the hook for damages if it's determined that your NCA is unenforceable, so you misled the employee(s) who have signed it.
California law is (and has always been) very favorable to employees, compared to other states.
I have no source for this and I am not a lawyer (but nobody knows you're a dog on the internet...) – if anyone knows more about this than I do, I'll happily read and be glad to learn something, but this is a subject I've read a bit about.
OK, actually, it wasn't that hard to find a citation:
http://levinebakerlaw.com/publications/post-employment-non-c... see the phrase "independent wrong"
You still have strong protections as an employer against "unfair competition" but you are better off not trying to pass any non-compete agreement to your employees, as you may be on the hook for damages if it's determined that your NCA is unenforceable, so you misled the employee(s) who have signed it.
California law is (and has always been) very favorable to employees, compared to other states.