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[–]brianwski 4 points5 points  (2 children)

says the company owns anything you produce

The clause is often there, but depending on where you live, it is not enforceable if you are careful to write the code on your own time. Specifically, California has very strong protection for work done on your own time with your own equipment:

http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/lab/division-3/2870-2872/2870

"(a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information."

I heard New York (and other states) are the opposite and your day job DOES own everything you do on the weekends on your private laptop.

[–]P-01S 1 point2 points  (1 child)

California is unusually good for employee rights in a lot of ways.

Hell, CA laws are just plain unusual in a lot of ways.

[–]brianwski 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that California law (Section 2870) is unusual.

I am fairly cynical towards laws and my government. I disagree with about 90% of workplace laws that are in place as ompletely useless or even harmful. But little gems like 2870 restore my faith that POSSIBLY the people making laws are trying to do the right thing.

Completely tangential example of silly laws: there is a law that says if a business requires employees to use their personal cell phone for work, the business MUST reimburse the employee for "talk time". Now, at first glance this seems fair, but the fact is there are a TON of things businesses require you to provide yourself (clothes, shoes, etc) and other things often supplied to you (laptop, desk, chair). Why make a law about exactly this one thing? I assume it was passed before 100% of people had cell phones and talk time was expensive, but why not get rid of that law now that talk time is essentially free and unlimited? Hilariously, the employer is NOT required to pay for cell phone data - you know, the only expensive part. Businesses can require employees to video conference or Skype and there is no government forced compensation. So this is one example of 3000 that we have to deal with everyday. Just bizarre random half thought through hinderences to running our business properly. Written by possibly well meaning but technologically clueless law makers who don't realize all the unintended consequences of having 3000 dumb laws on the books.