Do non competes hold up in Colorado?
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Do non competes hold up in Colorado?
I worked for a company in Texas that
just moved to the Denver area. I liked
the company and told them that if they
moved to the area I would like to work
for them again. Company I am with has a
non competes on the application. Will it
hold up if I go to the other company?
Asked on July 9, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
The vast majority of states, but not all, will enforce non-competition agreements. Your state (CO) is one of the ones that will not always enforce them. More specifically, CO only enforces non-competes if they:
1) Are used to protect trade secrets;
2) Were entered into when selling a business (i.e. if you were a former owner);
3) Are part of an agreement regarding tuition or training costs they paid for you (e.g. paying for you to get a degree or take classes) and the non-compete is used to force you to repay the education/training cost before you can work for a competitor; and/or
4) Are against managerial or executive staff (i.e. non-managers or non-execs will not be bound).
So if your situation or this agreement does not fall under any of the four situations above, CO should not enforce it against you.
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