What Matters in Determining How Long a Florida Non-Compete Lasts?

What Matters in Determining How Long a Florida Non-Compete Lasts?

Employers typically utilize non-compete agreements to protect themselves against the transfer of proprietary information to competitive firms, or to bar an employee from setting up a competitive company using the information they gained while employed.

In determining the validity of a non-compete agreement, courts consider what is called a “legitimate business interest” as well as if the non-compete agreement’s time limits are reasonable.

Under Florida Statute 542.335, a non-compete agreement may be enforceable if:

• The non-compete agreement is reasonable in time, area and line of business, and meets a legitimate business interest of the employer.
• The business interests covered by the non-compete agreement are legitimate.
• The non-compete agreement is necessary to protect these interests.

What Are Reasonable Time Limits?

The statute provides for different time limits for the enforcement of a non-compete, depending on the nature of the agreement being enforced:

For non-competes between an employer and an employee, a court will consider a time for the duration of a non-compete agreement to be six months. A non-compete that lasts more than two years is deemed to be unreasonable.

For non-competes between a company and a former dealer, distributor, franchisee or licensee, a reasonable time for enforcement of a non-compete is one year and an unreasonable time for enforcement is anything over three years.

For those seeking to enforce a non-compete against a seller of all or part of a business, a reasonable time for enforcement of a non-compete is three years and an unreasonable time for enforcement is anything over seven years.

For those seeking to protect trade secrets, a reasonable time for enforcement of a non-compete is five years and an unreasonable time for enforcement is anything over 10 years.

Business owners seeking to protect their business interests should seek a qualified, competent advisor for assistance. Contact one of the experienced Florida business attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com. We offer free consultations to business owners seeking to find the right attorney to meet their business’ legal needs.

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