I am not a lawyer. If this is of concern to you, you should see a real live employment lawyer in the state in which you will work.
That said, CA law (and I saw the word California in that document) places some restrictions on invention assignment agreements [1]:
For instance, California Labor Code §2870 provides that an employer may not
include provisions requiring employees to assign an invention created entirely
on the employee's time without using the employer's resources, unless they
relate to the employer's business or anticipated business or result from the
work the employee performs for the employer.
But I'd just tell your prospective employer that you want a carveout for stuff on your time on your equipment. There are so many engineering jobs right now that you should be able to credibly claim you'll find alternate employment.
Say you carve out prior inventions, existing knowledge, exception to non-competing projects, etc. You think you're safe... BUT you ask your employer to reimburse your high-speed internet connection. All of a sudden, they can argue that you are using company resources (though off-hours) and therefore even if the project does not overlap, it's the company's IP. Same thing with using your (company-paid-for) iPhone to do testing, business negotiation, etc. I may sound paranoid and I don't know where to draw the line. I think everyone ought to be careful about this sort of things.
That said, CA law (and I saw the word California in that document) places some restrictions on invention assignment agreements [1]:
But I'd just tell your prospective employer that you want a carveout for stuff on your time on your equipment. There are so many engineering jobs right now that you should be able to credibly claim you'll find alternate employment.[1] http://www.calstartuplawfirm.com/business-lawyer-blog/IP-own...