... which isn't really how this goes, because these agreements are barely agreements.
I mean, you can't just put whatever you want in a contract. It's never worked that way. Not to mention that employees often can't amend contracts, and they can't say no either. In some industries it's impossible to find a job without a non-compete.
At that point, it's not an agreement, its coercion.
Not true. Again you can't just put anything you want in a contract and then, if they agree, say "yep that works!"
Courts can, and regularly do, find certain parts of a contract are unreasonable and won't be enforced. Doesn't matter if both parties understood and agreed. Just because something is a contract doesn't mean it's really for real!
They don't have that authority, and nobody ever said they did. However, if you sign a contract saying that you will do something in return for money, the general rule is that you are obligated to follow that as long as it is not explicitly banned.
AND as long as it's reasonable and well-understood. If I put something ridiculous in there, like "you can't ever work again after this", that doesn't fly.
Not sure why you're being downvoted. Obviously there's something controversial about noncompetes but to me they seem problematic on their face, like something that violates basic contract law and shouldn't require explicit banning by the FTC, congress, or anyone. A judge should find them unconstitutional or something.
Let's say this was marriage, and you had people requiring spouses sign a "noncompete agreement" with marriage, so that the person, upon divorce, agrees not to date or marry anyone else within a certain distance, which amounts to hundreds of miles.
Is there really any question that that would not be an enforceable contract?
It doesn't seem any different to me legally.
It might also seem extreme but I also don't see how this doesn't violate the 13th amendment ban on involuntary servitude. You're not working for the employer, but you are in effect providing some labor benefit to them against your will, without compensation.