Janet Keene at Sierra HR alerted me to this news article in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/jimmy-johns-non-compete_n_5978180.html
Turns out that Jimmy John’s uses a non-compete with its cashiers, sandwich makers and delivery drivers. Really??? Is that crazy or what? And according to the article, employees subject to the non-compete can’t work for any company that derives more than 10 percent of its revenues from sub sandwiches. Really???
In my opinion Jimmy John’s sandwiches are nothing special. Nor are they made particularly fast (“freaky fast” in the company’s parlance). Yes, the bread is good but where’s the meat? And there is nothing unique about their sandwiches. So why is the company trying to prevent hardworking college kids from making a few bucks? I have no idea.
What I do know is that non-compete provisions are generally invalid in California. So don’t use them. If someone is selling his/her interest in the business, then yes, a non-compete is permissible. But for the average worker, non-competes are invalid. They also constitute an unfair business practice.