Pinduoduo's Non-Compete Clauses Spark Controversy: Is it Being Abused and Too Widely Applied? (AI Translation)
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- A former Pinduoduo employee, Lu Zhi, faced a lawsuit from the company for violating a non-compete agreement by joining another internet company within the restricted period, despite having worked at Pinduoduo for only eight months and receiving a relatively low compensation.
- Non-compete agreements are widely used in the competitive internet industry to prevent leakage of business secrets. However, there's growing concern over their expansive application beyond senior management and technical staff to include almost all employees, potentially abusing the system and hindering talent mobility.
- Legal experts and HR professionals debate the fairness and scope of non-compete clauses, with some arguing they've strayed from their original intent to protect business secrets and now serve more as a restriction on employees' career moves. Recent legal guidelines aim to balance protecting business secrets with ensuring freedom of employment and reasonable talent flow.
文｜财新周刊 包云红
By Caixin Weekly's Bao Yunhong
“我在2022年7月毕业入职拼多多，2023年3月离职，工作了八个月，在职期间到手收入7.6万元。”陆枝对财新说，但拼多多对其启动竞业限制的期限为九个月，支付了五个月竞业补偿共1.4万元；而在她竞业限制期限内入职其他互联网公司后，被拼多多索赔26万元。
"Having graduated in July 2022, I joined Pinduoduo and left in March 2023, working there for eight months. During my tenure, I earned a net income of 76,000 yuan," Lu Zhi told Caixin. However, Pinduoduo imposed a non-compete clause for nine months and paid her five months of non-compete compensation totaling 14,000 yuan; after she joined another internet company within the non-compete period, Pinduoduo claimed damages amounting to 260,000 yuan.
“我只是一名应届生，从事基层工作，公司不会对我启动竞业限制吧？”陆枝在入职拼多多签署竞业限制协议时曾如是想。现在面临对她而言的“巨额处罚”，她不理解并很气愤。
"I'm just a recent graduate working at the grassroots level; surely the company won't enforce a non-compete clause on me?" Lu Zhi had thought this when signing a non-compete agreement upon joining Pinduoduo. Now facing what she considers an "exorbitant penalty," she is both bewildered and furious.
龙年伊始，陆枝们的遭遇在互联网上传播、发酵，拼多多（NASDAQ：PDD）则被指竞业限制主体、范围过大，索赔金额过高等质疑。引得市场关注，法律界亦为此热议。
At the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, the plight of former employees facing non-compete restrictions spread and fermented on the internet, with Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD) being criticized for imposing overly broad non-compete clauses and demanding excessively high compensation. This has drawn market attention and sparked heated debate in legal circles.
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