My non-compete was 2 years and 50 miles wide. Was it enforceable?

The Clause That Sat Unchallenged for Years

When David accepted a sales director role at a medical device company in Nashville, his employment agreement included a non-compete: he agreed not to work for any competitor in the medical device industry within 50 miles of Nashville for two years after leaving the company, in any capacity.

When he resigned three years later to join a competing firm, the original company's legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter within 48 hours. David's new offer was put on hold. His instinct was to comply. His attorney's read was different.

How Courts Evaluate Non-Compete Enforceability

Non-compete agreements are not automatically enforceable simply because they exist in a signed contract. Courts in most U.S. states apply a reasonableness test with multiple factors. The central question is: does this restriction go further than necessary to protect the employer's legitimate business interests?

The four factors most courts examine:

1. Legitimate business interest

The employer must be protecting something real — trade secrets, confidential customer relationships, or specialized training they invested in the employee. A generic non-compete that exists purely to prevent competition, without tying to a specific protectable interest, is legally vulnerable.

2. Geographic scope

The restriction must be proportionate to where the employer actually operates and where the employee had meaningful impact. A 50-mile restriction makes sense for a local business. For a national company, it may be arbitrary. For a role with no geographic customer base, it may be meaningless as written.

3. Duration

Courts generally accept 6–12 months for most roles. Two years is at the outer edge of what courts typically uphold, and is more likely to survive for senior executives with deep access to trade secrets than for mid-level employees. Three years and beyond rarely survives judicial scrutiny.

4. Scope of restricted activity

'Any capacity' in any competitor is the broadest possible restriction and the hardest to enforce. Courts look for proportionality — a sales director being restricted from direct sales roles at direct competitors is more defensible than being prevented from any employment at any company in the same industry.

State-by-State: Where Non-Competes Stand in 2025

California: Non-competes are almost entirely unenforceable under Business and Professions Code § 16600. The state has also passed laws making it illegal for employers to include unenforceable non-competes in contracts or to threaten employees with them.

Minnesota: Banned non-compete agreements entirely for employment contracts signed after January 1, 2023.

Oklahoma and North Dakota: Long-standing near-total bans on non-competes.

Texas: Enforceable under specific conditions (Texas Covenants Not to Compete Act) — must be ancillary to an enforceable agreement, and must have reasonable limitations on time, geography, and scope. Courts will reform overly broad clauses rather than void them entirely.

Florida: Among the most enforcement-friendly states. Courts presume non-competes valid if they meet basic requirements, and will blue-pencil (narrow) rather than void overly broad restrictions.

New York: Applies a strict reasonableness test. Gov. Hochul vetoed a near-total ban in 2024, but New York courts remain skeptical of broad restrictions, particularly for non-senior employees.

Federal (FTC): The FTC's proposed near-total ban on non-competes has been subject to ongoing legal challenges. Monitor its status, as a federal resolution would override state law.

Unsure what your employment contract actually allows? Unstuck (Unstuck ) reads your NDA, non-compete, or severance agreement from your side — in plain language. It tells you what's enforceable, what isn't, and what you can do next. No lawyer required.

What Happened to David's Non-Compete

David uploaded his employment agreement and the cease-and-desist letter to Unstuck. The analysis flagged three enforceability problems under Tennessee law: (1) the 'any capacity' scope was broader than necessary to protect the company's customer relationships — David had been a sales director for a specific product line, not a company-wide strategist with access to all trade secrets; (2) the two-year duration was at the outer edge of Tennessee court acceptance for his role level; (3) the company's cease-and-desist letter overstated the clause's scope, characterizing it as preventing all employment in the medical device industry rather than what the contract actually said.

David's attorney used the Unstuck analysis as the basis for a response letter that challenged the enforceability on all three grounds and proposed a narrowed agreement — a 6-month restriction on direct solicitation of named accounts. The original company accepted the narrowed terms and withdrew the cease-and-desist. David started his new role within three weeks.

The 'Blue Penciling' Problem

In states like Texas and Florida, courts will modify an overly broad non-compete rather than void it entirely — a practice called blue penciling. This means that even if your non-compete is unenforceable as written, it may survive in narrowed form. Understanding what a court would likely narrow it to — rather than assuming it's void — is the accurate way to assess your actual exposure.

What to Do Before Your Next Career Move

Read the non-compete before you resign. Understand what it actually restricts versus what you assumed it restricted. These are frequently different.

Identify the governing state law. If you work in California or Minnesota, the analysis is straightforward. In most other states, it requires weighing the reasonableness factors against your specific role and the employer's actual business interests.

Do not assume a cease-and-desist means you have no options. Cease-and-desist letters are often drafted to appear more absolute than the underlying contract supports. They are a starting position in a negotiation, not a final legal determination.

Unsure what your employment contract actually allows? Unstuck (Unstuck ) reads your NDA, non-compete, or severance agreement from your side — in plain language. It tells you what's enforceable, what isn't, and what you can do next. No lawyer required.