I wasn’t forced to sign it at the time if termination it was about a year ago. No severance but was paid all outstanding commissions.

I would ask for a copy of the no compete you signed and read it very thoroughly. There may be an exclusion if they chose to terminate you. I gather you're commission based so passing off old customers to a new salesman night not work but they can always be traded.

Ah, that sounds like a scam, alright. I’d at least talk to a lawyer. You never know about laws, but it sure doesn’t seem right to me, on the surface.

Yep, lawyer up. Never been a fan of em but over the years it’s been money well spent, no doubt

It will not be cheap but it can be done. Your cost here is the big unknown

Been there done that.....Texas is a right to work state........they lose in court 100% of the time.......it’s all about trying to intimidate you to comply......

I've been asked to sign two and declined both. I had a conversation with them and explained my point, both allowed me to continue to be employed without the no compete. One of the companies actually hired me from one of their customers and then wanted me to sign a no compete That was an interesting conversation.

Good luck, I don't have anything to add...see an attny and/or talk to your current/new employer about it. I assume you told them when you got hired you had signed one, some companies will help you fight it.

A former employer decided one day to pass around non-compete agreements to the entire company. Blanket agreement which was most likely unenforceable. At the time we had 110ish employees, and my guess is probably fewer than 20 (the younger group, mostly new hires) actually signed. Most of us just ignored. It was a big deal for about a minute, and facing widespread departures, the company backed off.

As mentioned above, it is my understanding that non-competes need to be pretty specific in detail on prohibited companies, territories, time, etc. to be enforceable. Unfortunately, many companies will shy away from potential employees just to avoid the hassle of defending a new hire with a non-compete.

2003.
Over filing on workmanship comp...
They Can terminate ya...
They had lawyers on payroll.
Got a lawyer. He got new office, & more clients...
It ruined my credit...
Ended up on the streets,no one would hire...

dang Gov been spying on me ever since...

Best wish's...

^ This. The non compete totally depends on how it's written. Yes, they CAN hold up, but a lot of them can be beaten when fought for legally. But you will have to hire an attorney for it.

That's not a correct statement. I know of many non competes that were written well by the former employer and held up in court. They are 100% real. The best option is to not sign one. I wouldn't sign one at a former employer and I told them so initially. It never came up again.

I guess they expected you to work, some.

The generic almost form letter type NC, probably the most common, don't stand up well to challenge.
If it gets before a judge, anything seeming unreasonable gets it tossed out.
Very few generic NC are reasonable, basically intimidation, most folks out of a paying job don't want to incur possible legal expenses.

If it gets this far;
Before a Judge, he or she will determine if the NC is reasonable, if it is, you will be arguing why the NC is unreasonable in scope, and then the definition of ' compensation beyond ' in your specific case, which is a muddy area with an undefined sliding scale.

Any severance, bonus or compensations that are not a part of the former employees usual and customary defined pay plan, or not outlined & defined in the employee handbook, or in writing could be considered compensation beyond. An employees signature acknowledges & accepts the terms set.

For commission based employees any projected or future commissions the employee is paid at time of severance or beyond the severance date could be considered compensation beyond.
So if your commission based and the former employer pays you for any commissions beyond your severance date, you're going to have a really hard time with defending compensation beyond.
You'll be left with reasonable vs unreasonable.

If the NC is deemed reasonable in scope, and the former employee was ' compensated beyond ', the chance of resolution in favor of the former employee is basically none.

Good thing, very few get this far.

On the other hand, an individual well written, detailed and reasonable non competes are very enforceable, especially for executive level employees.
Near to iron clad if the former executive employee was ' compensated beyond '.
If an employment contract is involved, rest assured the particulars surrounding resignation or termination are reasonable and very carefully worded.

' Right to work ' and or ' At will ' has nothing to do with non competes.

I'ts correct for me, how many have you fought in court? I fought 2 and won both.......