Do Non-Competes hold up in court?

[kendallweaver]

What's your experience with Non-compete agreements in radio? Have you actually seen them enforced? I'm curious to know if management ever gets away with this horrible contract add-on.

[kayburton89]

If I were you, I would not strongly hope for such agreements. Why? Because there is always a way to get around them. Our society is like that by default. Everyone thinks of himself and nothing else. Of course, you can think that you do not want to annoy your competitors, but at the same time they may deeply care less about your position. Cooperation is good as long as it is mutually beneficial. When someone steps forward, he walks over the heads of those who remain behind.

[1370]

Call your station's lawyer show and ask for advice on the air.

Now that's good radio.

If you go to a major and it's out of your present station's signal, a court won't apply your N/C.

[yallcom]

I've always found that non-competes are more to scare away potential competitors from hiring you....most stations don't want to involve themselves in a court case. Will they hold up? Yes. But it will depend on what state you're in and which judge you happen to get...If you get a court case at all...because most contracts also demand arbitration and take away your right to go to court. And the station gets to choose the arbitrator. By signing that contract, which, if you don't, you can't have the job, you are giving up your freedom to move.

[toddm]

Varies, depending on the state.