Non-compete clauses in contracts. Has anyone refused to sign this and still got the job? nm
Posted By: Need to work for more than 1 co. nm on 2006-06-19
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nm
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Some places have no-compete clauses with
s
My attorney told me that noncompete clauses
are illegal and not enforceable because one person cannot stop another person from making a living EVEN if you sign that noncompete agreement. I went through it with both a pharmaceutical company and a transcription company trying to prevent me from working for their clients or competitors. I can see their point as an independent contractor when it comes to offering the same services and essentially stealing their clients. However, as a former employee, nobody can tell me who I will or won't work for. The second attorney is correct, and I would follow his advice.
Caught that. Thx! Something about competition clauses at the time kept them from hiring in NY state.
s
The other day when this all started I refused to believe it but
yesterday I got a file back for QA review that was not mine that has the initials that were given the other day. My heart instantly sank. The file was huge, much bigger than I thought we were allowed to send in and what was underlined was quite a bit, more than I would ever dream of leaving in my own work. To me it confirmed by worst fears. I too thought about calling the office, but I really doubt we would get the truth if we have not received word about it up front. I came to this company because of its reputation. You never saw anything bad about them. I have no idea if there are truly money troubles, but it does appear that way based on how things were to how they are. It is all really sad, but to me I am carrying a firm belief at this point that it must be true.
blacklisted because I refused a job at TRS
Yes, that is true and was told that I did not have a job at the other company they thought I was going back to. They thought I was going back to a job that they are affiliated with, but I did not. So, all the hard work that went into them trying to black list me did not work.
i wouldn't sign it, but cross that out and sign
the rest
I was black listed because I refused a job with TRS
Then, I was told they called the other company I as going back to and I would not be allowed to go back there either. Lucky for me, I had 2 jobs already.
They flat out refused to take out mine.
One of the many reasons I quit. (Obviously, from the posts on this board, I quit just in time.)
My condolences to those of you who were treated badly.
i refused to accept a position
based upon their equipment, just for reasons like you stated. Not only cannot make money, but it makes your work-life miserable trying to cope with it. I'd rather take less-quality accounts and have easier days...
Maybe things changed since I quit there because I refused to buy
the equipment. It is not just a router, it has to be a Cisco router, Cisco modem, etc. And don't fall on the floor when you see the length of the gross lines, lol.
If everyone refused to do cesspool, they would change it fast!
x
they have to compete with the
I guess that is whats happening?
Non compete
Normally a noncompete clause pertains to an employee leaving a company and either going to work for one of their clients or taking the account for herself.
It should not keep you from working for a competing transcription company just should keep you from taking one of theirs clients for yourself or to another company.
Check the fine print a little closer
No compete
I do not think I would sign this, but also wondering if any of this affects your right to unemployment. When the hospital outsourced us we got a severence and then they denied unemployment for the time of the severence. We did not have to sign a noncompete though. I think this can vary state to state though as far as unemployment laws. On a funny note though, the hospital assumed we would all jump at the chance to work for the company they contracted with to outsource the work. Not one of the 35 MTs went to work for this heavily Indian-based company with a bad rep of hiring the MTs for the transition, then firing them once things were in place in India. The HR person at the hospital told me they were shocked and never expected to have to pay out the severence or have the unemployment claims they ended up with. Oh well!
Non-compete
If you are in a specialized business, such as medical transcription, you can claim hardship and a court will not hold you to said non-compete.
You have a right to reasonable opportunity to support yourself and a non-compete signed with a transcription service isn't worth a whole lot.
And if you work for someone and go after their clients, then ya just hope Karma doesn't pay you a visit.
Need to know the wording. Non-compete does not mean you ....
cannot work for another company. It usually means you cannot actively persue work from any of their accounts. They don't care about other MTSOs or if you have an accout of your own. This is especially true if it is IC.
You need to read it over again. Non-compete isn't about your time...its about their clients.......
No-Compete Clause
I need help making a decision and I don't know who to ask. My company recently had a layoff, and in order to receive my severance, they are asking that I sign a form that states that I will not work for a competitor for the next 12 months--basically stating that I will not begin to work for any company in the MT business and that I will not try to start my own business. The severance pay only equals a very, very, very small fraction of 12 months of pay, so the compensation of this request is inadequate.
I have contacted to local attorneys. They both said that it is legal of them to request this. One lawyer said that I just simply should not accept the severance and that I should just try to find another job. The second lawyer said to sign the agreement, accept the severance, and still try to find another job because the no-compete clause is just too vague and asking me to give up my career for 12 months is not something that would be supported in a court of law if my previous employer decided to prosecute.
Has anyone ever been in this situation? What did you do or what is your advice to me?
ExecuScribe wants employees to take a psychiatric test. How creepy. I refused! sm
These companies want to know your psych. I think that is privacy invasion, and I don't need a job that bad! That was the last test they had me take. I would have never bothered with them if I knew that in the beginning. What a waste of time!
Are you sure the non-compete clause prevents you from working elsewhere?
Oftentimes, what the non-compete clause in an MT contract means is that the MT cannot solicite work from the clients of the MTSO, not that the MT can't also work elsewhere. In fact, for an IC contract, stating you can only work for that MTSO is a big no-no (since one of the IRS definitions of an IC is that they provide their services to more than one client).
How can you compete with the big-company price-wars? - nm
?
Yes, its simply called a No Compete contract.
in our industry. MTs and management alike are bound by them, so really should be no hard feelings or a big deal. Its a very understandable clause and common in all industries, not just ours. If you don't like the clause, you don't have to sign or work for the company. Its not a biggie, really, and very common.
I agree. Three months and the best move I made. For radiology, I do not think anyone can compete.
nm
I worked for an all US MT company, we lost to offshore. Couldn't compete with their bids, and th
:(
contracts
Everyone should keep in mind contracts work both ways. If the company voids the contract in anyway - nonpayment, late pay if stated in the contract a date it is to be - then the entire contract is void. If you have a problem, go through the yellow pages for a free consult with an attorney - but the contract is not just for them it is for you too - so if it states you are to do 1000 lines a day and they do not offer it up, if the wording is proper - they voided the contract not you. If a company says the payday if Friday and you do not recieve it within a standard mail delivery date, they have voided the contract. So yes please everyone review what they sign to see if you can get what you deserve. So many of us just take it, I say get some legal advice - Lawyers hand it out like candy. If we dont - they will continue to bounce checks, pay late, decrease workloads, etc.
contracts
Tried to email you privately but it would not go through. can you send to my email and let me know company name you mean. I would like to know if it is the same one. thank you.
contracts
Anybody have this experience? I was just offered work from a company that sounded wonderful, just what I needed. No set schedule, work anytime, just set number of lines. Then I got the contract which stated basically paid on the 15th and 30th assuming payment received from client. What? I should do the work for their business and then they don't have to pay me until their client pays, if their client pays. I don't think so. The contract obviously precludes the MT from contacting the client so how do I know if the MTSO got paid or not or when they got paid. Just looking for other people's thoughts on this. Am I being paranoid? Have you ever been asked to sign such a contract? I have seen many postings on this board about people not being paid, and I do not want to be in that situation. I do the work for XXX Company. Doesn't XXX company owe me that money either way. I feel it is their responsibility to pay for work done for their company and THEN deal with the client for any nonpayment issues. What do you think? I politely told them I could not sign the contract with that statement included and asked them to reconsider their position, explaining my feelings on the subject.
contracts
Without reading the contracts, I would say that they need to give notice to change it, unless there is a clause in the original contract that they can change it at will. If you see a clause like that don't sign it.
RE: CONTRACTS
Right ... employees, IC or employee status, should have some type of contract with their employer. But who usually writes the contract? How many contracts presented by the MTSO actually allow for input from the MT? For the most part, they are WORTHLESS, often detrimental, to the MT, since they are almost always one-sided favoring you know who.
contracts
Do you then sign a contract you disagree with? I don't understand doing that.
When I'm given a contract, I surely do take my pen and cross out what I do not agree to, add in what I want agreed to, and sign it.
This at the very least opens the door to negotiation of what I see as issues I can't work with. I've turned down contracts where the MTSO wasnt willing to negotiate to meet my terms. And more often than not, the MTSOs have been willing to work with me.
contracts
You can give direction to a contractor. You can tell the plumber you work until noon so he needs to fix your bathtub between 1 and 5. You can tell him you can only have a plumber there on Monday.
Most ICs do not ever bother SUBMITTING a contract to a service, which is just insanity. Instead, they kowtow to the demands of a service (treating them as employees), then kvetch when they aren't treated as ICs.
Education and knowing how to conduct BUSINESS is seemingly lost among way too many MTs.
You need to negotiate better contracts.
.
Depends on Contracts
I do not know whether the contract specifies only that the work be done in US, or that the provider not outsource at all. If so, that could void contracts. But at any rate, they will still need us US employees to do the work.
Some union contracts have more pay for certification. sm
At a facility I worked at for about 11 years, we had that benefit - $1.00 an hour for certification. You would have to find a unionized hospital and see how their contract reads.
Beware of contracts that state
you get paid when we do... run, run as fast as you can...! Do not sign it.
MTSO HOSPITAL CONTRACTS
What duration of time is a contract with a hospital, one year? It is now April, meaning 50+ transcriptionists needed a year ago, means 50+ now fighting for work. ??
They don't go up b/c hospitals have contracts with MTSOs, sm
saying this is the rate for 2 yrs or whatever. The company may want to pay you more, but they aren't getting reimbursed a high rate from hospitals or clinics.
I'm an IC and I won't accept contracts that have line
IC. Those of you who agree to working a certain amount of lines are being taken advantage of, and you also make it harder for us true ICs who know that line quotas should not be enforced.
If these companies worry about keeping the client happy, then hire more people. The company I work for does just that. If I can't work for some reason, then someone else picks it up. If they can't work, then I pick up the slack.
Those of you who want steady work put up with the rules and accept IC status because you want to work every day. Well in response to your lazy post, then don't come on here crying when you run out of work because as an IC these companies do not have to promise you any work or provide it all.
So it doesn't work both ways. Most ICs, by definition, should really be employees especially with set schedules and set hours.
As soon I see that I have to work set days or type a certain amount of lines I bypass that crookery of a company. Sorry, that's how it is and I do fine in the salary and job department, and I am a true IC that makes my own rules. I am by no means lazy but I will not tolerate set rules when none should be set unless they want to offer me employee status.
P/S: You all cry when these companies run out of work and when you're an IC, they don't owe you any work; so the joke is on you for not looking out for yourself and instead trying to make excuses for these companies who are getting away with paying ICs and controlling ICs when it's against the law.
FUNNY THING ABOUT MT CONTRACTS - SM
They're about as LOPSIDED as a 3-legged dog/horse/donkey - take your pick. WHO GETS TO WRITE THESE CONTRACTS IN THE FIRST PLACE?? Who has the most to say on what does or doesn't go into it? Certainly not the MT. They're almost all written by THEM - with the help of their attorney or in-house legal department - and I can guarantee you they didn't miss a trick.
Case in point: Ever look at your apartment/house lease, for example - you know the tiny print on the back with about 200 clauses - favoring, guess whom?? IC status might have its merits for the MT - CERTAINLY for the MTSO - no taxes, no SS to pay for you ... no worry about lawsuit for wrongful termination or worry about you applying for Unemployment - but they STILL b---- and moan ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK. 
FUNNY THING ABOUT MT CONTRACTS - SM
They're about as LOPSIDED as a 3-legged dog/horse/donkey - take your pick. WHO GETS TO WRITE THESE CONTRACTS IN THE FIRST PLACE?? Who has the most to say on what does or doesn't go into it? Certainly not the MT. They're almost all written by THEM - with the help of their attorney or in-house legal department - and I can guarantee you they didn't miss a trick.
Case in point: Ever look at your apartment/house lease, for example - you know the tiny print on the back with about 200 clauses - favoring, guess whom?? IC status might have its merits for the MT - CERTAINLY for the MTSO - no taxes, no SS to pay for you ... no worry about lawsuit for wrongful termination or worry about you applying for Unemployment - but they STILL b---- and moan ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK.
Yes, the hospital contracts out to the MTSO who is an IC...sm
and has to hire people to fullfill that contract. They have the option of hiring independent contractors with some sort of line quota in a period of time or hire employees who work a schedule enabling them to meet turnaround times more precisely but having to pay employment taxes and give benefits. A company can have of mix of these employees but there is definitely a difference by law. I myself prefer flexible part-time, but so far those jobs have been hard to find.
Our contracts will expire at the end of 2009
at which point we will have to sign all that HIPAA confidentiality stuff and probably noncompete agreements with Transcend too. While the 2009 MDI contract says they have to pay us a certain line rate for 12 months (and this would be binding on Transcend as well) I bet what we signed says we cannot compete for at least couple of years (and this would be binding on us as it pertains to what would now be Transcend accounts.) Don't have time to hunt up and read my contract right now but I would be very surprised if the noncompete agreement expired at the end of 2009. Way to easy to walk off with accounts that way.
I'm not posting contracts. You're insane!
I don't care if they don't believe me. I'm the one getting paid. What do I care if they don't believe me? I can understand the problem with others getting hired in at higher rates, but truly that is their situation, not mine.
You're real sharp but not I'm not dull enough to bite that! LMAO
Good Point, But Contracts One-Sided
Sorry for duplication, I now see both your posts. You bring up a good point, though sometimes these contracts are one-sided and allow a lot of manipulation of job pool by client. But fact remains that US-only work remains and someone has to do it, preferably those of us already trained. Hopefully one way or another we will remain working for those clients. ???
Sten-Tel contract, anyone with any info on their contracts? more inside
I received their contract and had my attorney look at it and some red flags came up. One of the things that is in it is an indemnity clause stating that I an as an IC hold them harmless for ANY liability even if it's THEIR fault. And there is no guarantee of any certain amount of work or amount of hours in it. Please help and advise if you can. I would like to hear from any previous Sten-Tel workers or present ones. Thanks.
As a service, I do not carry liability insurance...on contracts,
I line out that clause. The liability for MT work is extremely low. I personally have never heard of any MT being brought into court on a transcription. Has anyone else? Therefore, liability insurance is either a) not necessary or b) if purchased, would be really really cheap as the liability is practically nonexistent. None of my clients has ever been offended that I don't carry liability. I simply tell 'em that no body does.
Companies close old and gain new contracts all the time. (SM)
Stop rumoring.
If you have information, share with the Administrator or myself. Otherwise, leave rumoring off the board.
Goldbird
I've got a question about contracts. How legally binding are they?
I was reading the MDI discussion below and a couple of ex-MDI MTs have said that their contracts were changed while they were still employed forcing them to work different days, different schedules, etc. I worked for JLG not too long ago and they basically did the same thing. I signed a contract stating a certain wage and then they basically breached the contract and completely changed my wage.
So what are the deal with contracts anyway?!?!??!?!?! Why do we bother to sign them if the companies aren't honoring their side of it? And shouldn't the MT be able to take legal action against an MTSO that has breached their contract? Shouldn't there be legal ramifications? The MTSOs make sure to put in noncompete clauses in the contracts so we don't steal any of their clients and try to scare us into believing that if we try to steal their clients, they'll sue, but then they completely disregard the fact that they signed the contract and they could be sued for not meeting their end of the deal!
I HAVE HAD IT!!!! These MTSOs are getting away with too much! I have a file folder the size of a freaking PDR with nothing but contracts I've received throughout my career as an MT and I'd bet that if I sit down and go through them, not one of the MTSOs honored them.
When the hospital contracts an MTSO they are abiding by contract
and the hospital CAN ask that the work be done at certain times. That does not make the MTSO an employee now does it?
They CAN contract a person out to do work at certain times with certain turn around times, and that is NOT called an employee. It is called CONTRACTING someone out to do the job they need done when they need it done.
Most contracts said either party can quit or fire at any time. Would be unusual to get locked into
s
It's a sign
hmmm, the woman at this company was so nasty, I told her, Why don't you hop on your broom and fly off into the sunset before someone drops a house on you.
Would seem she either flew or was flattened doesn't it?
They are poison. Run while you can.
How do I sign on?!!
How do I find this fantastic Deb?! I went to school for MT, found work which only lasted one year and then the company folded. I am having no luck finding anyone who'll take me on with just one year's experience. Deb sounds like just the perfect kind of person to work for. Is she hiring? Thanks for all the help, everyone!
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