The NJ legislature is currently considering mandating post-employment pay during noncompete periods as a method to more easily enforce noncompete agreements. The practice of continuing to pay former employees bound by noncompetes is popular in the UK, and it has potential benefits for both businesses and workers. Some US businesses have begun to include this employee benefit to their noncompete agreements without any legal mandate as a way to attract talent in a tight labor market, indicating that this could become a more popular employment practice. As US courts continue to scrutinize noncompetes more closely, other states may also choose to adopt similar mandates.
See "Post-employment pay could expand in the US as NJ legislature considers restricting employee noncompete agreements", Chris Marr, Bloomberg Law, September 9, 2022