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Thanks for posting this and everyone else here who had read this. Now, I know many companies, business, etc. have "Non-Compete" agreements. I had to "read in between the lines" of this before I started getting concerned. Without mentioning the company, here is the agreement:
"The undersigned Employee hereby agrees not to directly or INDIRECTLY compete with the business of the (name of company) and its successors and assigns during the period of employment and for a period of one year following the termination of employment and notwithstanding the cause or reason for termination."
Non compete means, according to this company, their "employee shall not own, manage, operate, consult or to be an employee in a business substantially similar to or competitive with the present business of the company or such other business activity in which the Company may substantially engage during the term of employment"
This agreement also states that their employees agrees not to disclose any information to any third parties.
I asked about the shift hours during the interview process, and they said it depended on which camp I was at. When they offered me the job, and told me the name of the camp it was, and asked me to "accept" the job offer at my earliest convenience. I asked again which shift it was (time start to time end), and that is when they gave me the flexibility speech, followed by a deadline (which was 10 p.m. MST) that night to give them an answer. That's when I asked, again, and gave them a very polite, professional reason as to why I was asking, they came back and took back their job offer.
This "Don't Ask, "Don't Tell" mentality, and to be rescinded on a job offer for asking a simple question, really has me concerned and raises more questions from everything from job safety, to potential labor and wage violations.
Maybe you should contact the N.D. Dept. of labor......You might be doing a favor for some indentured servant.....er employees that may be stuck in this situation. Seems fishy to me. I once worked for a online co. and had to sign a non compete clause. But, moving to another state, and not being able to seek other employment if you were fired would be inhumane imo
Maybe you should contact the N.D. Dept. of labor......You might be doing a favor for some indentured servant.....er employees that may be stuck in this situation. Seems fishy to me. I once worked for a online co. and had to sign a non compete clause. But, moving to another state, and not being able to seek other employment if you were fired would be inhumane imo
Yeah, indentured servant came to my mind, too. Also, the nightmare of having a long needed rest after two weeks of day shift one day, to swing shift the next, and the next of being a overnight. I mean, what if I got yelled at for going to the bathroom and it wasn't during a scheduled "break time." You have to be mentally, physically and emotionally strong and able to do the work and live and breath in these camps, especially if you are female. The other intriguing thing is that when I stated asking questions in my email correspondence (I found the job on Craigslist - go figure), the Q&A would also get forwarded to the heads of the company before the HR lady answered them. Also, her whole tone in the email correspondence we've had over the course of a week, made it sound like I was about to report to a prison camp.
Actually, if I read the law right, in North Dakota and the state where this crew camp company is out of, their "non-compete" clause they their employees sign as a requirement BEFORE they offered the job, is ILLEGAL. Since they took back their job offer, and I never accepted or denied the job in the first place, the non-compete clause does not apply to me regardless. This company does not offer medical or any type of insurance whatsoever. You also could not leave camp for any reason unless approved by their Manager for the entire 3 weeks (what if I had a medical emergency?).
Whew!!! I dodged a bullet on that one.
I can think of a few county jails and prisons that treat their inmates better than this!!!
also the no compete contacts are more a scare tactic.most cases never make it to court,and then most employers lose there cases because there no compete contract is too generalized.the oil/gas companies have too many trades within them fo them to enforce such a contract.(examplr:now if you were a watch maker they could say you can not work on watches anymore specific terms).
What they do is blackball you,I worked for a general contractor for a number of years who tried to get all employees to sign a no compete,most refused ,as did I,no one lost there jobs.The main reson for those type of contracts is to prevent you from starting your own company that would take work from them,like housekeeping,maint.companies,hotel management co.
Reguarding" right to work states",they are not as bad as most think the bad ones are "work at will",which most people confuse with "right to work states".they are the bad ones,the only labor laws that protect you are federal.
Hi Fixall Man,
Without mentioning the actual company, all I will say is that it is NOT the big one that is already there. In fact, I'm willing to bet that this is the exact reason why this company I got the job through, then took it back when I started asking questions, don't want their ex-employees working for their competition and for a company who probably treat their employees better, too.
Last edited by Wiscomtngrrl; 04-08-2012 at 09:43 AM..
Reason: edit correction
Job applicants and new employees are often perplexed to read--in a job application, employment contract, or employee handbook--that they will be employed "at will." They are even more troubled when they find out exactly what this language means: An at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason (except for a few illegal reasons, spelled out below). If the employer decides to let you go, that's the end of your job--and you have very limited legal rights to fight your termination.
If you are employed at will, your employer does not need good cause to fire you. In every state but Montana (which protects employees who have completed an initial "probationary period" from being fired without cause), employers are free to adopt at-will employment policies, and many of them have. In fact, unless your employer gives some clear indication that it will only fire employees for good cause, the law presumes that you are employed at will.
This article will help you figure out whether you're employed at will, what rights you have as an at-will employee, and what you should do if your prospective or current employer asks you to sign an at-will agreement.
Learn more about Employee Rights
I never officially worked for them. I was not fired . . .
I was offered the job, then they took it back when I asked them which 12 hour shift it was. Yep, I'm fully aware of the at-will and the Right to Work laws. It's a damn good way to let employers fire you for any reason and get away with either not hiring and/or firing someone illegally.
I'm one of the millions of unaccounted for unemployed in this country.
There are seven states in which some employees must receive one day off from work out of every seven (essentially, one day a week). These states are listed below6 and noted in Table 2. Frequently, this required day off arises from an historical religious basis. You get a day off if you’re willing to spend it worshipping a god.
• California
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New York
• North Dakota [SIZE=3][SIZE=3]and provide one 30 min break for periods worked over 5 hours [/SIZE][/SIZE]
There are seven states in which some employees must receive one day off from work out of every seven (essentially, one day a week). These states are listed below6 and noted in Table 2. Frequently, this required day off arises from an historical religious basis. You get a day off if you’re willing to spend it worshipping a god.
• California
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New York
• North Dakota [SIZE=3][SIZE=3]and provide one 30 min break for periods worked over 5 hours [/SIZE][/SIZE]
This would apply to EVERY man / crew camp, every business operating in the Oil Patch. Good to know. I think the County Commissioners in the Williston Area should be made aware before accepting any more permits for these camps that state labor and wage laws are being followed.
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AGREE!!
Also, the nightmare of having a long needed rest after two weeks of day shift one day, to swing shift the next, and the next of being a overnight. I mean, what if I got yelled at for going to the bathroom and it wasn't during a scheduled "break time." You have to be mentally, physically and emotionally strong and able to do the work and live and breath in these camps, especially if you are female. The other intriguing thing is that when I stated asking questions in my email correspondence (I found the job on Craigslist - go figure), the Q&A would also get forwarded to the heads of the company before the HR lady answered them. Also, her whole tone in the email correspondence we've had over the course of a week, made it sound like I was about to report to a prison camp. 
I dodged a bullet on that one. 
I was not fired . . .
