Signing Confidentiality, Non-Solicitation, Non-Competition, & Inventions Agreements

[SomeOtherGuy]

Non-competes are routine in Medicine. Usually 30-50 mile geographic exclusion for 2 years around here. They appears to be pretty enforceable in this state.

In my experience they aren't enforceable except in very limited/narrow cases like HMac outlined above. I used an attorney to address the one I had with a previous contract and as it was stated to me by the attorney. It's like hiring a plumber and telling him he can't fix any of your neighbor's toilets after he fixes yours. There isn't a judge out there who is going to tell you that you can't work in your career field. Most companies use them as a threat and threaten to enforce it in court thinking you won't push back.

Like I said earlier...

Enforceability varies a lot by state, your type of job, and the terms of the noncompete.

There is a wide range of state law on these, and some states will laugh at them while other states will enforce most of them to the letter. You need to look up the law for the state that's going to govern the noncompete - that's usually where the job will be physically located, but it can vary from that. You should get a copy of their proposal and review it before agreeing to anything (with or without a lawyer advising you). And don't be too surprised if what they ask you to sign after "signing on" doesn't perfectly match what they allowed you to review - that would be a sleazy trick, but in some industries it would not surprise me. (Probably not an issue in medicine, FWIW - people have long memories and many doctors will actually have a lawyer review stuff before signing.)

Even if the state involved looks unlikely to enforce, keep in mind that the former employer will likely threaten, sue, and seek a preliminary injunction preventing you from working at the new job you switched to. If the law is on your side you can make that all go away quickly, but with $$$ in lawyer fees. If the law is not clearly on your side it can drag on for months or more. It's also possible that state law could change after you sign, either by legislation or court decision, or you might be asked to sign a new non-compete mandating some other state's law during your employment. If you can negotiate it away or avoid signing, it's in your interest. But I realize in some fields they are used by all employers and close to impossible to avoid.