Houston, TX employment law attorney Gregg M. Rosenberg explains what is required to invalidate a noncompetition agreement. He states that much of his work involves helping clients challenge or invalidate non-competition agreements. Often, these agreements lack consideration—meaning the employee receives nothing in exchange for agreeing not to compete after leaving their job. In most cases, to invalidate a non-compete, he focuses on demonstrating that the restrictions are far broader than necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interests.

For example, he describes a scenario where a salesperson manages only six clients, yet her non-compete bars her from working anywhere within five counties. He notes that such a restriction is unreasonable and unlikely to be enforced by a judge. In such cases, he seeks to have the agreement reformed to limit restrictions to only the relevant customers, rather than barring the individual from the industry entirely.

He emphasizes that, in his experience, judges are generally reluctant to prevent someone from earning a living, whether the departure from the company was voluntary or involuntary. Courts tend to favor proportional restrictions rather than broad prohibitions that unnecessarily block an individual from their profession.