Garden leave is a different beast and seems fair, you and the employer each get something, non competes on the other hand do not usually offer anything to the employee.
Many garden leaves as a condition of having a non-compete aren't a great deal though. I think the fairly recent Massachusetts law is 50% pay--and that may be of just base pay. It might be a good deal if you want to travel in your twenties. It may not be such a great deal if you have a mortgage to pay and family to support and you're basically pressing pause on your career.
It does make the company put skin in the game but if they decide to enforce anyway, it's better than nothing but hardly a panacea.
