Non-Competition Agreements in North Carolina

Non-competition agreements, also known as covenants not to compete or restrictive covenants, are employment contracts used by employers to limit the ability of an employee to compete with the employer by stealing customers or trade secrets. Enforceable agreements must strike a balance between protecting the employer's legitimate business interests from an unfair competitive advantage with the employee's right to work in a field for which he or she is trained.  In general, courts decide what is considered reasonable or not reasonable by examining the type and size of the business, how long and over what geographic area the restrictions apply and whether adequate consideration, or benefit, was given the employee at the time the agreement was signed.

The Law In North Carolina

In North Carolina, contracts not to compete are required by statute to be in writing and signed by the employee.  North Carolina courts have determined that restrictive covenants are enforceable if the terms are reasonable and necessary to protect certain legitimate business interests of the employer such as customer lists and company good will. Factors considered when determining reasonableness include the hardship an agreement puts on the former employee and the restrictions placed on time, territory and activity of the former employee.