Oracle suprise
I mean really, does this article suprise anyone?
CentralSquare Technologies, a Florida-based maker of software for public safety officials, sued Oracle on Tuesday claiming that the database giant has been poaching key employees in an effort to build its business selling software to law enforcement and justice organizations. The complaint [PDF], filed in US District Court in …
To be fair, Oracle is no more at fault here than Adobe Systems, Apple, Google, Intel Corporation, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar.
They all illegally colluded in non-poach agreements, as the parent article documents.
I'd rather live in a world where Oracle is allowed to do this, but abide by legal non-compete agreements (which I myself despise).
Depending on the state, a non-compete agreement basically means you cannot take the previous employer's files, documents, etc. with you to a new job. The knowledge in your brain goes. In other states, there may be an enforceable break between jobs if the non-compete applies. Courts have generally, when they have ruled, frowned on the enforceable breaks between jobs but its not universal and sometimes is dependent on the type of position. As far as FL law, I have idea what the details of a what a valid non-compete agreement is.
I suspect the poaching by Oracle is legal even if it might be ethically dubious.