@Sajha Keto, as soon as I read your thread I had to post. I will share my experience. Some years ago, while working as a contractor I quit the dh*** company and then continued with the upper layer vendor and the same client. The client was a Fortune 20 company so obviously it employed thousands of contractors. Some how, dh*** company that I ditched and argued with to get all my pending salary (tini haru le approx 45 days ko pending rakhya thiyo), possibly from their other employees or friends, found out that I was still working for the same client. You know this is easy, right? Anyone who works at the same client could check my name in client's active directory. Since I had threatened dh*** company about DOL complaints, they swiftly complied and paid all my pending salary. Two weeks later, they sent me their first "Cease & Desist Letter" from their in-house attorney. I was suggested to ignore d**i's empty threats and that a "Cease and Desist Letter" would mean nothing and that the dh*** did not have guts to go to the court. So I gave a damn about that letter. Unfortunately for me, they went to the court seeking damages. Summoned that I had signed and violated their employment agreement as it related to their Non compete clause. I was not going to back down, I hired a lawyer. It so happens that attorneys that handle employment / labor rights related cases, are mostly corporate types and are very expensive. I had to pay more to keep the lawyer than to settle the case with dh*** company. Eventually, I settled the case out of court -it was an expensive ordeal. Basically, since I had signed the Non Compete clause (i.e., their employment agreement where they had mentioned that I cannot work for the same client with different vendors) I was dragged to the court and possibly because their lawyer might have strongly advised them that there is no way they could lose that case. It so happens that court favors employers if non-competes are explicitly outlined in the employment agreement and if it was signed. In some cases, when contractors have not signed an explicit clause related to non-compete, in their employment agreement then court may decide against the employers. Be aware that employment-at-will related notion is different than the non-compete related interpretation.

That's not conclusive. I do have yet another example, where another friend of mine with another dh**** company when he quit but covertly stick with the same client; although they quarreled and argued and threatened each other, eventually his dh*** company not only paid the pending salary but never went to court. That friend is still working for that client. So my case might be an outlier because dh*** companies do not generally have guts to go the court. Especially with such gray area cases where it is not only expensive but also lengthy; in my case, however, they did. And I should say they won. So please use caution. Let me know your thoughts.