Non-Compete Agreement

It depends heavily on your state and is changing. Several states — including California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma — treat them as void for employees, with limited exceptions like the sale of a business. Many others enforce them only if the worker earns above a statutory threshold, received proper notice and real consideration, and the restriction is no broader than needed to protect a legitimate interest. Check the current rule in the governing state before signing or asking anyone to sign.

Where they are permitted at all, restrictions of roughly six months to two years are the range courts most often accept, with shorter periods far easier to defend. Some states cap duration by statute. Longer terms tend to be enforceable only in the sale-of-a-business context, where the buyer is protecting goodwill it paid for.

A non-compete bars working in a competing business at all. A non-solicitation only bars going after specific customers or employees of the former company. Non-solicits are enforceable in more states and are far less likely to be struck down, which is why many employers now rely on non-solicitation and confidentiality terms instead of a full non-compete.