Recession deals cruel blow to laid off tech worker

A friend of mine, a field service engineer, was recently laid off after nearly two decades with his high tech employer. The terms of the separation may sound familiar: To get the severance he had to sign off on a noncompete agreement for one year.

That may have sounded acceptable during boom times, when businesses were competing for talent. But in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s the policy deals a cruel one-two punch.

With full time jobs scarce, tech workers like my friend rely on hourly contract work to make ends meet. Many have worked for decades for the same company, developing specialized skills that are only saleable to users of the technologies their former employers offer.

Noncompete agreements cut these people off at the knees. Once the severance runs out, where will they turn? The company will survive, but the employee, who has only his expertise to sell, risks losing everything.

The company's position is clear: It doesn't want to lose $100 per hour in service revenue by having the work poached by a newly jettisoned employee who might charge $75. But in protecting the corporate flanks against gnatty little pests like my friend, it is putting formerly loyal employees in an untenable position.

Another recently laid off worker already broke such rules by doing hourly field support work for his former employer's customers. In his state of residence such contracts are unenforceable. But that hasn't stopped the company from sending threatening cease and desist letters.

These companies should back off with these policies. It's bad enough to have to throw workers into the street. There's no need to run over them.