House Democrats Call for an Investigation into Jimmy John’s Non-Compete Clauses

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http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17284/investigation_into_jimmy_johns_non_compete



The sandwich chain's noncompete agreements may soon be under investigation by the federal government.(Melanie Levi / Flickr)

BY WILL CRAFT

Are Jimmy John’s non-compete clauses so absurdly restrictive that they're actually illegal? House Democrats are looking into it, as they plan to request a federal investigation from the Labor Department and Federal Trade Commission into the punitive measures of the fast-food sandwich chain's employee contracts, the Huffington Post reports.

Jimmy John’s requires all new employees to sign an employee agreement which includes a harsh non-compete clause, the Huffington Post reported last week. These clauses are normally reserved for upper tier-employees bearing corporate knowledge and company secrets but have become increasingly common for low-wage workers in recent years.

The employee agreement, obtained by The Huffington Post’s Dave Jamieson, revealed the extent of the draconian measure, which prevents employees from working for competitors for up to two years. What makes the agreement truly absurd is how the company defines a competitor: any business which makes at least 10 percent of their profit from sandwiches, pitas, or wraps, and is within 3 miles of a Jimmy John’s franchise.

To give an idea of how restrictive that rule is, look at the map of where former employees are prohibited from working in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, created by of SigActs.com.

FULL story at link.