J.P. 03 said:
Dumb question, but is it normal in this industry to be able to enforce a noncompete if a contract is expired (vs if the contract is broken when someone wants to go somewhere else)?
Seems weird that they would have signed an agreement that said "I will work here from X date to Y date, and after I'm done I will still give you veto power over where I work next for 90 days after that without additional compensation from you."
I think it's a misnomer to say their contract has expired. The term of employment may have expired, but the contract could contain other provisions - like the non-compete - that survive for some time. So their contact is still very much "alive" and enforceable even though we colloquially say it has expired.
Here's an analogy from my work in equipment sales. When we supply some machinery, the sales contract includes a warranty period for one year after delivery. If something is defective in that one year, we will fix it our expense. There is no further exchange of money in return for goods after we deliver the equipment, but we have not fully performed our obligations and completed the contract until the warranty period elapses.