Can I seek employment with a competitor's company if I signed a non-competition agreement?

Full question:

My corporate office is located in Pinellas County, Florida. I signed a tight non-competition agreement based on the promises of promotion and participation in the ownership program. I was promoted and transferred to Texas. It takes three years as a branch manager to qualify for ownership. My company is now closing my branch since they already have a branch within a few miles north of mine. The company offered to demote me, reduce my territory, and guarantee my salary only until January of 2007. I declined. I want to seek employment with a similar company in this area. I have work in this industry for the last seven years. It is my career. Do I have a chance to remain in this industry because of breach of contract? What are my options?

• Category: Employment
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

Restrictions to prevent competition by a former employee are held valid when they are reasonable and necessary to protect the interests of the employer. For example, a provision in an employ¬ment contract which prohibited an employee for two years from calling on any customer of the employer called on by the employee during the last six months of employment would generally be valid. Courts will closely examine covenants not to compete signed by individuals in order to make sure that they are not unreasonable as to time or geographical area. For example, if a company only operated within the City of Houston, and the covenant not to compete provided that an employee of the company could not solicit business within 100 miles of the City of Houston if he ever left the employ of the company, such an agreement would be unreasonable as to its geograph¬i¬cal area. The company had no need to be protected regarding such a large geographical area. An agreement between a doctor and a clinic that if the doctor leaves the employ of the clinic, he will not practice within the city in which the clinic is located for the remainder of the doctor's life would be unrea¬sonable as to time. When a restriction of competition is invalid because it is too long or covers too great a geographical area, Courts will generally do one of two things. Some Courts will trim the restrictive covenant down to a period of time or geographical area that the Court deems reasonable. Other Courts refuse to enforce the restrictive covenant at all and declare it void.

Because of the gravity of this issue, it would be best if you discussed this issue with an attorney in the state in which you want to work.