Have ya’ll ever had to sign a non-compete for writing a freelance article? I just got one recently and it makes me uneasy. Would love to hear other people’s thoughts or experiences with that.

Does it have a stipulated time frame?

Yup! Client stipulated that I don't work on the topic for a direct competitor before their project launched (nor disclose that I worked with them). I think it's fine as long as it's a very small niche (since it doesn't limit my ability to work that much) with a limited time frame.

The content is for an insurance company, they’re asking that I don’t work for any competitors or anyone else in the industry for 12 months.

That sounds like a tall order @enough-ram-82722 especially for one article

I’d recommend never signing a noncompete as a freelancer, unless you get paid extra. If they want to buy that type of protection — 12 months — they should pay you a crapload for that benefit. To expect it for free just because you give someone one assignment is unreasonable, and generally is a signal of entitlement. BTW, I suggest refusing such requests whenever you can afford it. Why: If more and more companies can get away with that type of request, it will increasingly strip power and freedom from freelancers. And I say all the above as someone who hires and doesn’t freelance. I just see where power lies and how it can shift in ways that are increasingly unfair to individuals.

12 months is a lot of time. They should cut you a check if they want you to turn down gigs from competitors for that long.

Don't work for any competitor😳... Really. You should walk. Perhaps you can work with competitors who aren't domineering.

Generally about noncompetes, this is something I posted among a group of journalists (from January 2021, when I was still at NerdWallet, leading content): About noncompetes: Do everything you can to avoid signing one (and making anyone sign one). They can suck in more ways than the obvious ones. You have the most leverage AFTER a company has made you an offer. You can tell them you’d love to join, but won’t do it if they force you to sign a NC (assuming you have the privilege of such a choice; everyone’s circumstances are different). If you can afford to walk away if the company holds firm, hopefully having multiple candidates refuse to join over a noncompete will help change their requirement. Right now in my Plan B, we have a job candidate whose employer is shutting down operations in their state and yet their noncompete remains in effect. That means the individual no longer has a job, but still can’t work for a competitor unless their old company signs a waiver. (That company remains open. All the companies in our space operate online and many of us hire people remotely. My employer does, for instance.) Our legal team reviewed their situation and we can’t hire them if they can’t get a waiver, given where they live and how their state enforces noncompetes. For us, it’s an inconvenience. We can always hire someone else. For the individual, their NC has screwed them over, even though their company no longer wants to employ them. That’s really fucked up. This person can’t leverage what they’ve learned and effectively has to begin anew in another domain, which hurts their earning ability and limits their career options. This also means they might end up having to move involuntarily, just so they can land work. Personally, I won’t sign a noncompete and I won’t make anyone sign one. I strongly believe that if you want to keep employees, you do it by making them WANT to stick with you, not by fucking holding them hostage economically. Sure, it’s never ideal if your employee quits to join a rival company, but that’s life. And I urge all managers to avoid being complicit in making anyone sign one. If you do that, you are actually hurting all of us who work by emboldening more companies to fuck us over with noncompetes.

Signing a non-compete for any single project like an article is silly. Also, a clause like "stipulated that I don't work on the topic for a direct competitor before their project launched" needs a backup clause, eg "or for 12 months, which ever happens first."

Also: one of the best ways to increase your value as a freelancer is to stick to a particular niche, so that makes a non compete especially icky

Love this thread. I appreciate everyone’s replies-- they’ve all been super helpful. I wrote back and told them why I won’t sign the contract as is so we’ll see what happens next. If they won’t take it out, I’ll be walking.

FWIW, in various industries, noncompetes have played out in ways that hurt many folks’ careers. I mention that, because maybe cautionary tales can help others avoid similar traps. https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2021/the-ftc-may-abolish-noncompete-clauses-for-journalists-and-everyone-else/ Personally, even if these sorts of issues don’t affect my livelihood, I don’t want to see other people getting taken advantage of. Building a good career is already hard enough for everyone.

An update: The company has agreed to drop the non-compete out of the contract. Thank ya’ll again for the support and advice!