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4749 An employee's agreement not to compete with the employer after leaving employment is prohibited under Labor Code sections 2802 and 2804 and therefore invalid; to the extent that, as consideration for releasing the employee from an unlawful noncompete agreement, the employer requires the employee to release the employer from claims the employee might have against it, the employer commits an independently wrongful act that may support the employee's action for interference with prospective business advantage; a provision purporting to release the employer from "any and all" claims the employee might have cannot apply to nonwaivable statutory protections, like that of the Labor Code sections, so the employer's demand that the employee sign an agreement containing such a provision does not violate law and is not an independently wrongful act. [NOTE: This was a confusing, poorly written, decision. I would suggest you read it to determine its significance for yourself.]CitationEDWARDS v ARTHUR ANDERSEN (Wrongful Release) 44 C4 937 [See: B&PC 16600 etseq; LabC 2802, 2804; Edwards v Arthur Andersen (RevGrtd) 142 CA4 603, T/AT 10/06; Della Penna v Toyota 11 C4 376, T/AT 12/95; Campbell v Trustees 817 F2 499; D'Sa v Playhut 85 CA4 927, T/AT 2/01]
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