Are you feeling trapped by a noncompete agreement that feels more like an ankle monitor than a career opportunity? In this eye-opening episode of the Employee Survival Guide®, Mark Carey pulls back the curtain on the often-overlooked implications of noncompete agreements, revealing how they can stifle your career growth and limit your job prospects. Many employees don’t realize that these clauses can be unenforceable, especially as legal trends shift in favor of employee rights. Mark empowers listeners with a survival kit designed to navigate the murky waters of noncompete agreements, ensuring you can advocate for yourself in the workplace.
As we dive deep into the world of employment law, Mark encourages you to check your salary against state laws to ensure you’re not being shortchanged. He introduces the powerful ‘unclean hands’ defense, a tactic you can use if your employer has acted unfairly. Negotiating your exit strategically can be a game-changer in your career, and Mark shares insider tips on how to do just that. Remember, you are not bound by your employer; you have the right to seek better opportunities and advance your career.
Throughout the episode, Mark emphasizes the importance of employee empowerment and understanding your rights in a workplace that may not always have your best interests at heart. Whether you’re facing discrimination, a hostile work environment, or simply feeling undervalued, this episode is packed with valuable insights that can help you reclaim your career trajectory. From severance negotiations to understanding employment contracts, we cover the essential knowledge every employee should have.
As the legal landscape continues to evolve, Mark encourages you to be brave, seek new jobs, and leave behind the constraints of noncompete agreements. The path to career advancement is yours to navigate, and with the right tools and knowledge, you can break free from the shackles that hold you back. Tune in to this episode of the Employee Survival Guide® and arm yourself with the skills you need to thrive in today’s competitive job market. It’s time to take charge of your career and turn those noncompete agreements into opportunities for growth!
If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Leaving a review will inform other listeners you found the content on this podcast is important in the area of employment law in the United States.
For more information, please contact our employment attorneys at Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com.
Disclaimer: For educational use only, not intended to be legal advice.
Transcript:
Speaker #0 Hey, it’s Mark here, and welcome to the next edition of the Employee Survival Guide, where I tell you, as always, what your employer does definitely not want you to know about, and a lot more. Hey, it’s Mark, and welcome back to the Employee Survival Guide. Today, we’re talking about the corporate equivalent of an ankle monitor, the so-called non-compete agreement. Look, I know why you’re here. You got a killer job offer on the table. It’s more money. better culture, and zero mandatory fun. But when you remember that piece of paper you signed three years ago during HR orientation while you were halfway through a bagel, well, you feel trapped now. You feel like your employer owns your brain. I’m here to tell you they don’t. In 2026, the legal walls are crumbling. Even though that nationwide FTC, the Federal Trade Commission ban we all wanted to get, got stuck in the courts. The old way of locking people down is dying a slow, painful death. Employers know that. I’m trying to communicate that to you. Today, I’m giving you the survival kit to break those chains and change jobs fast. First, let’s deprogram your brain. Most non-competes are paper tigers. They look scary. They growl at you. They have no teeth. In 2026, judges are all over it. They’re seeing a massive trend where courts, especially in places like Delaware and Colorado, are refusing to blue pencil or fix bad contracts if your employer made the agreements too broad, like saying you can’t work in the entire solar system for five years. A lot of judges are now saying the whole thing is a bunch of shit and they void the agreement. So survival tip, check your salary. As of this year, a dozen more states have passed income thresholds for non-competes. If you aren’t making an executive level big bucks, your non-compete might already be legally dead in the water. So check your state laws. Number two, unclean hands defense. You got to be aware of this. Here’s a secret weapon. I love this one too. It’s called the unclean hands defense, and you’re going to use it. A defendant, but you’re going to. You might be a defendant being sued by your employer. Before your boss tries to sue you for unfair competition, ask yourself, have they been fair to you? Did they short your commission last quarter? Did they ignore a harassment claim? Did they unilaterally change your bonus structure? Did you witness the CEO or have knowledge of CEO or executives or having an affair with somebody else in the office? If your company breached their end of the deal first, They usually can’t turn around and use the court to enforce your end. In 2026, the FTC is still hunting for companies that use predatory agreements on lower level staff. If your company is messy, use the mess as your shield. And I can tell you every single time we have a non-compete case, we always hunt for through the client. We ask the client anything like the above questions I asked. Did they happen? Because we use them to create a really murky picture. And we put it all together by affidavit. You know that I use one for every single case. And we basically collect the evidence and put it forth in front of the employer, along with the accusation that the agreement for non-compete is void for a variety of reasons. So here’s the negotiation ninja tip for you. How to leave fast. You don’t always need a courtroom. You need a conversation, but you need to be a ninja about it. So don’t go in and say, I’m going to go to your biggest rival. Instead, focus on the non-solicitation and the NDA. And here’s an example script you can follow. You say, look, I’m moving on to a new chapter of my career. I have zero interest in taking your clients or your trade secrets. I’ll sign a separate NDA to prove it, in addition to one you already signed. In exchange, I need a formal waiver of the non-compete so I can keep my career moving in the different sector. So most companies just want to protect their secret sauce and their client list if you give them a peace treaty, which is what that script. was on those specific things, they’ll often let you let the broad non-compete go just to avoid a $50,000 legal bill. It’s probably higher than that, but they’re going to want something. They’re going to want a general release and waiver from you that you won’t sue them. Okay. So remember that too. But just a reminder, the NDA does protect against the company’s argument that you’re going to steal the trade secrets. Okay. You already signed one. There’s no need for the non-compete whatsoever. It’s basically a useless piece of document. If you want to go to the nuclear option, you want to call a lawyer like myself, because they won’t budge, they won’t let you out of your non-compete. Try this emphasize, you know, spend the money, hire an employment lawyer like myself, get a real declaratory judgment letter complaint, you usually call it, and a letter of demand and et cetera, we usually write. And you have to show a show of force to the employer that you got the goods on them, the agreement’s non-enforceable, and you got a lot of other messy things to include in there as well. A well-placed letter from an attorney pointing out that the agreement is unreasonable. And scope and duration is usually enough to make HR blink. They know that if they lose in court, it sets a precedent that frees everyone in the office who has one because they all have the same agreement. They’d rather let you go than risk losing their grip on the 200 other employees. So the bottom line. You are not a piece of equipment. You are our free agent. I tell people all the time, go look for a job first and figure this out second. The law is trending in your direction, but you have to be brave enough to call their bluff. And I will encourage you and counsel you to do that. Go get the new job because your income depends on it and leave the ankle monitor behind. Thank you for letting me be of service. I’ll talk to you soon. Hey, it’s Mark. And thank you for listening to this episode of the Employee’s Fireball Guide. If you’d like to be interviewed for our podcast and share your story about what you’re going through at work, and do so anonymously, please send me an email at mcaryy at capclaw.com. And also, if you like this podcast episode and others like it, please leave us a review. It really does help others find this podcast. So leave a review on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you very much and glad to be of service to you.