I've never heard of any company being punished. I've been fortunate in my career and only ever signed one non-compete agreement. It was in California, and bef

I've never heard of any company being punished. I've been fortunate in my career and only ever signed one non-compete agreement. It was in California, and before such things had been struck down by the courts (1980). I took the time to read it before I signed, and it basically said that any invention I produce henceforth (even after my employment was terminated) would belong to Teledyne. I knew it would never stand up to scrutiny in court so I wasn't too worried about signing it.