On: Google senior execs getting 30 percent raises

In general there's less friction when shifting jobs in California due to non-compete clauses being (mostly) banned:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_clause#California

The article mentions a case in 1998 where out of state non-compete clauses cannot be enforced in California.

They are enforceable in Washington state, Microsoft's main location:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_clause#Washington

This might be one reason why you haven't seen something like this at Microsoft.