Draft an Employee Non-Compete Agreement in 30 Seconds

What is an employee non-compete agreement?

An employee non-compete agreement is a contract in which an employee agrees not to work for a competitor, start a competing business, or solicit the employer's clients for a defined period after leaving. It protects the things that make a business valuable — client relationships, trade secrets, pricing, and proprietary methods — by preventing a departing employee from immediately turning them against you. If you also need to draft the broader employment terms, start from the non-compete agreement generator and tailor it to your situation.

What an enforceable employee non-compete needs

Courts do not rubber-stamp these agreements. To stand up, a non-compete usually has to be reasonable on three axes — and tightly scoped to a legitimate business interest:

• Restricted activities — name the specific work or business the employee cannot engage in, not a blanket ban on earning a living.
• Duration — a defined, modest time period; six months to two years is the common defensible range.
• Geographic scope — limited to the area where you actually compete, whether that is a city, a region, or a defined customer territory.
• Consideration — something of value to the employee in exchange, such as the job offer itself, a promotion, a bonus, or access to confidential information.

Common mistakes to avoid

The fastest way to lose a non-compete in court is to over-reach. Banning an employee from an entire industry nationwide for five years reads as a restraint on trade, and judges in many states will void it rather than rewrite it. Keep the scope narrow, give real consideration, and do not rely on a non-compete alone — pair it with confidentiality and a non-solicitation agreement so client and recruiting protections survive even if the non-compete itself is limited.

State law matters

Enforceability varies widely by jurisdiction. Some states uphold reasonable non-competes, several heavily restrict them for lower-wage workers, and a few refuse to enforce them at all. Recent federal scrutiny has added more uncertainty. EZdoc generates a clean, professionally structured draft fast — but always have a local employment attorney confirm it is enforceable where your employee works before you ask anyone to sign.