What Is a Non-Compete Agreement — and When Is It Enforceable?

A non-compete agreement restricts an employee from working for competitors or starting a competing business for a period after leaving. Enforceability is a state-law patchwork: California has long banned employee non-competes almost entirely, several states have joined with bans or income thresholds below which non-competes are void, and the enforceability landscape has been actively shifting through legislation and litigation in recent years — so current, state-specific review is essential before relying on (or fearing) any non-compete. [LEGAL REVIEW: confirm current state landscape and any federal rule status before publish.] Where they are enforceable, courts require the restriction to protect a legitimate business interest (trade secrets, confidential information, customer relationships) and to be reasonable in duration, geography, and scope of restricted activity.

## What "reasonable" looks like
Duration of six months to two years is the traditional zone; multi-year restrictions face skepticism. Geography must match where the employer actually competes. Scope must be tied to what the employee actually did — a restriction preventing a salesperson from soliciting their accounts reads very differently from one barring them from the entire industry. Some states' courts "blue-pencil" overbroad agreements down to reasonable terms; others void them entirely — which changes how aggressively employers draft.

## The narrower cousins that usually matter more
Non-solicitation agreements (don't take the customers or the team) and confidentiality/trade-secret obligations are enforceable far more broadly than non-competes and cover most of what employers legitimately need. In ban states, these — not non-competes — are the real constraints on a departing employee, and trade-secret law applies everywhere regardless of any contract.

## Practical guidance, both directions
Employees: get the agreement reviewed before signing and before resigning — timing of what you download, whom you contact, and how you announce matters enormously in later disputes; and know that offer-stage non-competes are negotiable more often than people assume. Employers: tailor by role, provide consideration where required, and calibrate to your state's enforcement reality — the overbroad agreement that felt protective may be void, or may be evidence of bad faith.

_Informational only; not legal advice._