I worked at Covidien until 2011. I resigned and took another pharma job covering the same territory. I had a different set of products but 1 product competed directly with Covidien's pain line. My manager was gracious when I turned in my notice and Covidien was fair in my exit. I received nothing in ways of threats or legal action. I didn't hear 1 word or question about the non compete. BTW, life and money have been good since leaving. Covidien is a nice bunch of folks, but the leadership was not impressive. I personally believe the non compete is a boogeyman to scare people.