Non-compete Clause

choi

Conor Dougherty, Battles Simmer as Workers Try to Go to Rivals. New York Times, July 15, 2017 (front page).
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/ ... noncompete-law.html

Quote:

"Idaho achieved a notable distinction last year: It became one of the hardest places in America for someone to quit a job [to work for a competitor] * * * [The state law] shifted the burden from companies to employees, who must now prove they have 'no ability to adversely affect the employer's [the employer a worker wants to leave] legitimate business interests.'  The bar for that is so high that Brian Kane, an assistant chief deputy in the Idaho attorney general’s office, wrote that this would be 'difficult if not impossible' for an employee to do.

"While its economy is known for agriculture — potatoes are among the state's biggest exports — Idaho has a long history as a technology hub. * * * Boise is one of America’s most remote metropolitan areas. Despite its Rocky Mountain setting, or perhaps because of it, the city and surrounding suburbs grew to prominence and affluence thanks to homegrown businesses like the semiconductor giant Micron Technology, a former start-up itself, as well as the JR Simplot Company and the Albertsons grocery chain.

"The most extreme end of the spectrum is California, which prohibits noncompete agreements entirely. Economists say this was a crucial factor behind Silicon Valley’s rise, because it made it easier for people to start and staff new businesses.

Note:
(a) Simplot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplot
(made billions from the commercialization of frozen french fries)
(b) "For a law that would end up riling tech companies, Idaho's statute began with an unlikely character: Debbie Nolan, a 51-year-old saleswoman who never went to high school.  Ms Nolan is from the New York City borough of Queens. She left school at 13 [and eventually settled at Boise] * * * 'I don't think I could get a job at Walmart without a high school diploma,' she said in an interview."

That is a hyperbole. I check Walmart's job center, which mention no schooling or diploma -- though one of Walmart's job site
http://www.walmartapplication.info/
says, "High school diplomas may prove necessary for employment as Walmart managers."