I work for a free wantads publication and my boss made us all sign non compete papers. I formerly worked for a person who is employed by our competitor. She now wants me to come back to work for her. I never worked for the company when I worked for her and she paid me herself. So my question is if I do go back to work for her and she pays me as before will the non compete papers my boss made me sign be legally binding?
It sounds as if you would be violating the non-compete clause (which I haven't read) if you went to work for your former employer.
However, the real question is: Would the other employer bother to sue you to try to stop you from working for your former employer?
The job market right now it terrible. If you have a job offer, tak it.