Answers Posted By Victoria Ursulskis

Answer to non compete & pay issues

Wage payment & noncompete

You have two separate issues that may, as a practical matter, intertwine, but they are distinct. Both are matters of contract law--what did your employment agreement specify and what does your noncompete say. (And, what you put in writing when you resigned is another document that has some potential bearing.)Any attempt to answer your questions certainly requires an examination of the documents. It appears that you may have a wage claim, potentially qualified by understanding the facts and impact of your accepting "adjusted" payments (if any).

As to the noncompete, Indiana has fairly well- developed law in that area. It sounds as if you really want to know what would happen if you were sued, should you work for an entity encompassed by the noncompete language. What the language is (or how Indiana law views cetain language)guides a person as to what defenses, if any, might be available in that circumstance. The short answer is that you can't stop anyone that wants to sue from doing so. Ways to approach this situation are best discussed will an attorney who has the full complement of facts and who can point you to alternative approaches.

MEL Moderator's note: This article provides an overview of Indiana non-competition law: http://www.myemploymentlawyer.com/wiki/Indiana-Non-competition-Law.htm

posted Aug 22, 2004 9:04 PM [EST]