Experience with a No Compete Clause?

first lets clarify California is NOT a "right-to-work" state (it is an "at-will" employment state), and right-to-work or at-will has NOTHING to do with this issue.

non-competes are NOT enforceable in any state if they are NOT strictly construed, they must be limited in geographic area, length (months NOT years) and be justified due to trade-secerets, proprietary rights, etcetera.

a non-compete can NOT limit a persons ability to make a living in their career field.

the ramifications of violation must be clearly stated and enforceable under public policy.....

a common mis-conception about non-competes involves those in sales, a sales person stealing a customer list has nothing to do with non-competes but is rather a criminal offense (theft of company assets) and depending on the circumstances could be criminally or civilly prosecuted...

in a few states non-competes are simply NOT legal.

so what would happen in your case depends on where you are, how the agreement is worded.........

generally these are nothing more then scare tactics......

It depends on the state in which you live. California, like many states, is a right-to-work state, and non-compete restrictions in employment agreements are against public policy and usually will not be enforced by the courts. Agreements dealing with businesses are a different matter, and there may be some enforceability there.

The actions are usually set forth in the non-compete agreement