Madder Than An Adder

My Fellow Soupers, I rarely get mad anymore, but today I am madder than an adder. Not long ago, an unemployed security guard in Florida accepted an $11/hour job at a company named CIS. The man was happy to find work, and didn't realize that CIS had him sign a non-compete agreement. Some time passed, and he accepted a similar position at a bank for $15/hour -- from which he was summarily fired after an attorney for CIS ratted on him to the bank. * All I can say is that 'there ought to be a law' against hourly employee non-compete 'agreements.' What possible 'secrets' can a security guard transfer from one position to another?! And even if he was trained from a 'proprietary training manual' of a company, so what?! Would this employee be knowledgable of the 'ins and outs' of that training manual and its 'proprietary methods?' -- He probably never even was allowed to see it if it was proprietary!! A cruel hoax has been perpetrated against Jim (the man's first name). He could not find work after his firing from the bank, as he could not apply for security guard positions. Jim wound up declaring bankruptcy. A cruel hoax is also being foisted upon decent, unsuspecting Americans everywhere. Over 30% of companies require all employees to sign non-compete agreements.* Smarmy lawyers and smug human resource personnel are in cahoots denying hard-working hourly workers and others a chance at employment and at getting ahead in life. Do these callous lawyers and HR monsters sleep at night? Are they even warm-blooded? Perhaps they are really cold-blooded reptilian snakes --- or robots. For shame on the lawyer, a Sanford Solomon, who blew the whistle on Jim. And for shame on the bank personnel who cooperated with that lawyer to fire Jim. May they pay a price in the netherworld, and soon, for such a hideous lack of compassion. I believe that there is an initiative in Congress brewing to ban or to greatly minimize the effect of such non-compete agreements. I recommend finding out about it and getting behind it. Write your Congressman and Senators with the name of the bill when it comes out. Tell them to support it unequivocally. Thank you for reading! *(P.S. You can find this story, including the facts mentioned, in the Business section of today's Wall Street Journal). God bless and help Jim -- and all of us.