[amerberg]

One came back to bite me: https://progressive.org/magazine/ties-that-bind/

They had a joke of a case. When they first threatened to sue after I'd given notice, the CEO told me he'd have to take legal action to set an example for the new company. Or as the head of HR put it "they can't take our best people." They made no mention of trade secrets or any other legitimate business interest that would have been required to enforce the agreement in court. Instead, the CEO said that they had a "basically an open and shut case" because I couldn't take my "work experience" to their "closest competitor," which is nonsense. Not to mention that people at both companies have told me the companies weren't even competitors.

But the new company withdrew the offer to avoid having to go to court, so the facts and the law didn't matter.

This is how non-competes work.

[didip]

Wow, that sucks! So, have you move on from that company?

[amerberg]

Yeah, after I submitted my resignation, I was given the choice between legal action and a promotion. I'd been performing at a very high level, been recommended for that promotion by my boss months earlier, only to have kicked it down the road by upper management. After I gave notice they offered to give it to me immediately, with a raise that made them almost competitive with the new company.

The legal threats almost scared me into staying, but then I thought about how miserable I would be if I went back there. The postponement of the promotion had been the least of my complaints, nothing else would be getting better, and I'd only be inviting further bullying in the future.

So I left. I didn't get sued because the new company dropped the offer before I started. I was unemployed for a couple of months and also spent a significant sum on a lawyer. The whole thing was expensive and stressful bordering on traumatic. But I've never regretted turning down the counteroffer.