The linked-to NYT article has a story about a hairdresser whose previous employer went to court and succeeded in banning them from working for any "nearby town"

The linked-to NYT article has a story about a hairdresser whose previous employer went to court and succeeded in banning them from working for any "nearby town" for a year -- even though this is unreasonable by any sane standard. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/business/noncompete-clauses-increasingly-pop-up-in-array-of-jobs.html?hpw&rref=business&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/business/noncompete-clause... Insert "cutting edge" joke here, but at the end of the day, if you've signed a non-compete, there is at the very least an element of risk in willfully ignoring it.