Non-Competition Agreements A non-competition agreement, also known as a covenant not to compete, is a promise by an employee not to compete with his or her employer for a specified time in a particular place. A non-competition agreement is a separate contract that usually accompanies and is executed simultaneously with an employment agreement. Non-competition agreements are enforceable if the employer proves it has a legitimate business interest to protect by restricting its employees’ right to compete against it, if the restriction on the employee’s right to compete is no greater than that necessary to protect the employer’s business interest, and the covenant is supported by consideration, meaning that the employee received something in exchange for it. They are not enforceable if they do not support a legitimate business interest or if the time and territorial scope of the limitation on competition are overly broad. A legitimate business interest could be the employer’s desire to prevent an employee from taking advantage of “confidential” information acquired as a result of his or her employment, such as client lists, methods of production, or other trade secrets.