If you must, issue an "apology" to appease these obnoxious folk. Unfortunately, that's how the world is nowadays.
Not correct; it's considered against public policy in California.
https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california...
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي نَافِعٌ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم. وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَبَّاحٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " السَّمْعُ وَالطَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ، مَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ، فَإِذَا أُمِرَ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَلاَ سَمْعَ وَلاَ طَاعَةَ ".
I'm actually not sure this applies here because California state law just says non-compete agreements are void, it doesn't say that you should compete. In other words, you could obey the not-legally-binding lesser law here (the contract) and you wouldn't be disobeying the higher law.
This means that if a ruler commands you to kill someone or drink alcohol, you should not obey. But otherwise, you must obey. This hadeeth is used frequently by governments (via clergy proxies) to (rightfully) inform the public it is a religious duty to obey. The intent of this obedience is to prevents disharmony/chaos.
JazakAllah Khair for the hadeeth. There's another hadeeth: "The Muslims are bound by their conditions". So, what takes precedence: an agreement between two people, or the law of the land? That's a good question, actually!