A freelancer at a coffee shop in Austin showed me a 'non-compete' clause that basically said she couldn't work in her field for 3 years after the contract ended.

3 comments

3 Comments

Is that even legal for a freelancer? Those clauses are meant to protect trade secrets for full time employees, not lock a contractor out of their own industry. A court would probably throw it out, but the threat alone is enough to scare people. It's a bullying tactic to keep cheap labor on tap. She should run that contract by a lawyer before signing anything.

torres.riley1mo ago

What's a non compete, I barely know how to use my own printer?

kai8391mo ago

Did she actually sign it? That's the kind of thing you just have to cross out on the contract.