To make a long story short, my former employer placed me on a PIP, a month after I finished radiation therapy. For the two months I was on the PIP, I learned how mismanaged my department was, and I was let go a week earlier than expected.
As soon as I was fired, I went on an aggressive (and depressing) job hunt, and was interviewed by three companies. The company that picked me, hired me in less than a week after the interview. They are employee owned, give bonuses every month, and make you work from home twice a week, and have a day off every other week.
Well just this Sunday morning, I get an email from the in-house hiring manager for my former employer. They told me that I need to sign a contract agreeing that I would not accept employment from another company that is in direct competition with them for the next 3 years. They told me that I have until next Friday to send the documents back with my signature, or serious litigious consequences will follow.
What should I do? It's been more than a month since they let me go and I have already been accepted into a company that does exactly the same type of work that they do. It seems like they want to make me unemployed or make it difficult for me to find work elsewhere. I am very new to my industry and I only recently got a promotion. I honestly don't need any of this stress. What should I do?