We get complaints from New Jersey employees every now and then that they’re being faced with a situation where their employer, even if they’ve been working there for a number of years, is suddenly requiring non-compete agreements. They’re being told that if they don’t sign they’ll be fired. They want to know what they can do under those circumstances. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do except either sign the non-compete or be fired. One of the questions that you have to ask yourself is whether it’s better to continue to have a job and hope that your non-compete is not enforceable or to stand on principal and end up without a job. I do recommend that you do have the non-compete agreement reviewed by an attorney before you sign it, but ultimately it’s going to come down to either signing it or giving up your job.