This post was originally written in 2014. Nice to see that, maybe, something is going to be done about this. Comments on the proposed FTC Rule can be made here.
Interesting piece here about the different situations in different US states regarding the enforceability of non-compete agreements. Once again, California leads the way. And also once again, Florida is one of the worst. We can only hope that these are outlawed everywhere in the very near future. Enforcement of non-compete agreements is the last refuge of the incompetent (which apparently is an out of context quote borrowed from Isaac Asimov :-)).