Iwork for a locksmith company and want to start my own company on the side, canI get in any trouble?
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Iwork for a locksmith company and want to start my own company on the side, canI get in any trouble?
Asked on November 8, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) If you signed a non-competition agreement of any kind, that agreement is enforceable--check it's terms to see what you can and cannot do.
2) If you use any facilities, resources, or equipment of your employer, or use their customer list for your own benefit, you could face liability--you have no right to use those things.
3) If your employer has any special techniques which are proprietary to it (i.e. not part of general locksmithing), you couldn't use those particular techniques if you learned them from the employer; but any commonly known, standard, etc. techniques are fine.
Apart from the above, you could start your own company on the side. Of course, nothing would stop your employer from terminating you if it found out and wasn't happy about it, unless you had an employment contract limiting the reasons you could be fired.
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