I assume you are not a lawyer, nor have you ever had to deal with these issues in a legal setting. These clauses are precisely as enforceable as your (or your

I assume you are not a lawyer, nor have you ever had to deal with these issues in a legal setting. These clauses are precisely as enforceable as your (or your new employers) ability and interest to litigate, and exist as a way to intimidate. In this case they may not get invoked for that one guy who goes over to a competitor, but definitely could if, say, a competitor opens a similar facility and tries to recruit dozens of folks over. Even higher up on the pay scale, I know at least a dozen folks who said "yeah, whatever, unenforceable" and then had to back out of new jobs when the lawyer said "you'll win, eventually, but it's gonna cost you a $5k retainer to start the process". Basically, unless that new employer is going to go to bat for you, a big company can bury you in legal fees in no time. You are right that this is something that needs legislation. Considering the anti-labor client in DC, tho, it ain't gonna happen.