Employed through staffing agency, legality of companies own non-compete?

[rreviere]

I live in Washington state.
I am currently employed through a staffing agency, and signed a non-compete with the actual company, not the staffing agency. (No copy yet sorry) They seem uninterested in hiring me, as they have also not hired another temp-employee that has worked there for a year. They like to bully employees that don't fit into their clique, and force them to quit instead of hiring them. Well, I'm a good employee and I enjoy my job, but not the environment or the culture. Id like to work at a competing company.

Without knowing the details in the non-compete. Is it legal for a company to enforce an agreement, if you're not directly employed by them? such as being a temporary employee?

 

[LdiJ]

I live in Washington state.
I am currently employed through a staffing agency, and signed a non-compete with the actual company, not the staffing agency. (No copy yet sorry) They seem uninterested in hiring me, as they have also not hired another temp-employee that has worked there for a year. They like to bully employees that don't fit into their clique, and force them to quit instead of hiring them. Well, I'm a good employee and I enjoy my job, but not the environment or the culture. Id like to work at a competing company.

Without knowing the details in the non-compete. Is it legal for a company to enforce an agreement, if you're not directly employed by them? such as being a temporary employee?

It would be at least questionable for the non-compete to be enforceable for a temp employee. You are probably going to want to consult a local attorney with whom you can share the full details. The devil is going to be in the details.