London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

What to do if you're asked to sign a non-compete agreement

What to do if you're asked to sign a non-compete agreement

Tens of millions of US workers have signed non-compete agreements - knowingly or not - with their employers - and many of them may not even realize it.

Non-competes restrict where and when you can work after leaving your current job. Such agreements prohibit an employee from working for a competitor or from starting her own competing business within a geographical area for a certain period of time after leaving her job - usually between six months and two years.

In 2017, an estimated 28% to 47% of private sector workers were subject to non-compete agreements, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Non-competes are typically used to keep highly paid executives from jumping ship and taking the company's secrets with them. They also are commonly used to prevent salespeople and others who work directly with customers or clients from taking those relationships with them when they leave, said employment lawyer Laurent Drogin, a founding partner with Tarter Krinsky & Drogin.

But increasingly over the years, even low wage workers have been asked to sign these agreements. The sandwich chain Jimmy John's, for instance, settled lawsuits brought by Illinois and New York in 2016 that alleged the chain required all employees, including sandwich makers and delivery drivers, to sign two-year non-competes. More recently, WeWork settled suits in the same two states that alleged the company made all employees, even cleaners and baristas, sign broad non-competes.

"Often the reason employers want them is a retention device. [It's] prophylactic. If people think they have an agreement that binds them and they may get sued, if they can't afford an attorney and need the job, they'll sign now and worry about it later. It's a scare tactic," said Drogin.

Many economists say such agreements suppress wages, reduce worker mobility and are anti-competitive.

Two bills were introduced this year in the Senate to ban non-competes for low-wage workers. Meanwhile, several states have passed legislation restricting how broad the terms may be and, in some cases, also have banned employers from using them on low-wage employees.


What to do if you're asked to sign a non-compete

At some point, you might be asked to sign a non-compete.

You may be informed about it when you're applying for a job, in an offer letter, soon after you start a new position, or after working for your employer for years.

Or a company may include a non-compete clause in something you must sign off on, such as the employee handbook, a bonus agreement, a confidentiality agreement or a severance agreement, said attorney Donna Ballman, who runs an employee advocacy law firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


Ask questions and check your state's laws

Don't sign anything without first knowing what's in it. "Read everything your employer puts in front of you," Ballman advised.
If you see non-compete provisions, ask why you need to sign the agreement and what you're getting out of the deal.

You should be offered something in exchange for legally agreeing to restrict your future professional options and earning potential, such as extra pay, a promotion, special training for career advancement or a change in status so that you're no longer considered an "at-will" employee.

But the something "extra" you get may simply be keeping your job. "In Florida and in many states, an employer can say 'sign or you'll be fired,'" Ballman said.

In some states, though, such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, employers must provide you with something more than merely being able to keep your job, said Sidney Gold, an employee-side employment lawyer in Philadelphia.


Get outside advice

If possible, hire an employment lawyer who represents employees to look over the agreement before you sign anything.
If that's too expensive and other people in a similar position at the company are being asked to sign the same agreement, you might consider pooling money to hire a lawyer to review the agreement for the group.


Try negotiating terms

See if your employer is willing to negotiate any elements of the non-compete - e.g., shortening its duration or narrowing the geographic area to which it applies or more narrowly defining what the company means by "competitor" or "customer."


Don't assume your employer won't come after you

The fear with a non-compete is that if you violate it, the company will sue you.

No one can guarantee they won't. But employers don't always go to court over non-competes. "They look at it on a case-by-case basis," Gold said.

He said they're likely to pursue litigation, for instance, if you take the client list and start your own business.

If you go work for an established competitor, your former company may initially just send a cease-and-desist letter to your new employer, which in some instances could result in your being fired from your new job.


How to reduce the chance of a lawsuit

Before accepting a job with a competitor, send an email to whomever makes decisions on non-competes - it might be HR or someone else - alerting them to the offer and explaining why you believe it would not violate your non-compete, Ballman suggested.

"Then say, 'Unless I hear from you within 72 hours, I'll assume you agree and I will accept the position.' Send the email with a request for delivery and read receipts," advised Ballman.

You'll get one of three responses, she noted. The first is "No, we'll sue," in which case call a lawyer. The second is, "No we don't care, go ahead." And the third is, "We don't want to lose you. What can we do to get you to stay?"

If you don't get any response, Ballman added, send another email saying you assume they agree so you plan to give notice in two days. That gives them one more shot to get back to you. "Is that a total defense in court? No, but lack of good faith in enforcement is a defense. And you've shown you did everything [to give them an opportunity to respond]."

Whatever you do, Gold stressed, don't accept a job with a competitor clandestinely and hope for the best, because courts generally don't look kindly on deception. "Transparency solves a lot of problems," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×