Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

Re: is this non compete clause enforcable?

The analysis of whether a particular noncompete agreement is enforceable can be complex. Generally, a court will refuse to enforce a noncompete agreement that is not "reasonable." To determine reasonableness, the court looks to: (1) duration; (2) geographic scope; and (3) extent of the restriction. If an agreement is overbroad, the court typically rewrites the provision, reducing the restriction to a reasonable term. For example, if the court were to determine that a noncompete with a geographic scope of several states was too broad, it would declare the noncompete valid only for what it considered a reasonable scope under the circumstances, such as a single state, a town or city, or a certain mile radius.

Because the noncompete you may be subject to does not have a geographic scope indicated, the court would set one. What is reasonable may depend on the market from which the company draws clients/customers or some other relevant factor.

The one-year duration may or may not be reasonable. Usually, a one-year agreement is found reasonable, but in cases in which harm to the employer would disappear in less than a year, something shorter may be the limit of a reasonable restriction.

Even if a noncompete might otherwise be reasonable, an employer may enforce such an agreement only if it has a "protectable interest" in the employee's knowledge, expertise, or potential for harm. For example, simply because a pizza maker or welder is good at his or her job does not justify preventing him or her from working in the trade because the employer has no protectable interest. A sales manager, on the other hand, has knowledge of the employer's sales strategy, customers, discount policies, etc., that would cause harm to the employer if used in competition with it.

Sometimes, the circumstances around which the agreement was signed or agreed to may invalidate the agreement as well.

The bottom line is that a noncompete agreement cannot be analyzed in a vacuum without considering all the surrounding facts and circumstances. In most cases, negotiation with the employer is a recommended option. It might be that the employer will set reasonable and acceptable guidelines on what a departing employee can do in competition in exchange for an agreement not to contact existing customers or some other concession.

Consult an experienced employment lawyer for specific advice. This response to your question is not intended to be legal advice, but rather is a general discussion of the legal issues, which may or may not be helpful to you.