One of my former employers has an overly broad non-compete that they force every employee to sign on your first day of work with no mention of it during interviews or the job offer. Most sign it because they don’t understand or (as in my case), there weren’t many biotech jobs in Texas (Austin specifically). When I was terminated without cause (a whole other dramatic bullshit story) a week before my wife gave birth to our first child, the CEO and the president made all kinds of wild threats at me about going to a competitor or even within the general orthopedics and spine device field. I think none quote was “it doesn’t matter if we win in court, we will bankrupt you. If you have $200,000 in your bank, I’m willing to spend $200,001 on lawyers!” I was in product development and lab science, not sales. A non-disclosure of confidential information should have sufficed, not something baring me from employment in my field in the 27 states where the company had sales.
I hired an employment attorney who informed me that the NC was overly broad and unenforceable, but recommended I take their severance offer (cash and shorted NC time) even if if my acceptance made it enforceable, because these assholes were batshit crazy. I wish a national ban on NCs would have been in place at the time.