[RP TownTalk] PG County Board of Education

[Sarah Wayland]

> However, these words sounds a lot like what many employees
> sign or is found in company policies where intellectual property
> may be involved.

The difference is that you had a choice about whether or not to be
employed by those companies. Our students must, by law, attend school.
They have no choice. (I'm not as annoyed by the parts aimed at the
teachers, though if it's really true (as the article said) that other
districts do not have such policies, this will mean that the creative
and innovative teachers will not want to work in our county.)

I also used to work in industry that made me sign a contract that
forbade me to work in a similar industry for one year after my
employment with the current company was terminated (whether by them or
by me.) A colleague was laid off during lean times, and when she took
the contract to a lawyer, he told her that it was unenforceable. She
got a job with a competing company.

This is a case where I would really like to know what the legal
precedent would be for such a policy.

I also want to know what the School Board is trying to accomplish.

I *do* think that it's reasonable for PGCPS to benefit from work their
employees do as part of their jobs. But I'm not sure they should see
*all* the profit from it.

-Sarah