According to a research paper that relied on nationally representative survey data, about one in five employees in the U.S. labor force is bound by a noncompete. Companies desire to implement such agreements to protect their confidential and proprietary information.
Each state develops its own laws regarding these agreements. Last year, we discussed numerous changes to restrictive covenant, noncompete, and nonsolicitation laws across the United States. Due to the prevalence of these agreements, substantial legislative change continues to occur. At least one state has already modified its new law since the last publication. Furthermore, litigation related to these agreements results in judicial application of the laws that adds new guidance to the area of noncompetes.