When Florida Enforces a Non-Compete
Florida enforces a non-compete agreement that is in writing, signed by the person it binds, protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, area and line of business. Aaron Resnick, a Miami business attorney with Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, drafts, enforces and defends these agreements. Aaron knows the law. He knows both sides. And he knows Miami.
The ordinary enforcement rule appears in chapter 542, Florida Statutes. Since August 15, 2025, the CHOICE Act provides a separate framework for covered employees whose salary exceeds twice the county's annual mean wage, including restrictions of up to four years under chapter 542, Florida Statutes. The 2024 federal FTC ban never took effect.
What Makes a Florida Non-Compete Enforceable?
Four things must be true: the agreement is in writing and signed by the person it restricts; the employer has a legitimate business interest, such as trade secrets, confidential information, substantial customer relationships, goodwill or specialized training; the restriction is reasonably necessary to protect that interest; and the time, area and line of business are reasonable.
Aaron Resnick reads the agreement against those four requirements before he advises an employer to enforce it or an employee to sign it.
What Does Chapter 542, Florida Statutes Require?
The ordinary restrictive covenant framework in chapter 542, Florida Statutes addresses employee or contractor restrictions, business sales and franchises within its scope. The employer has to plead and prove a legitimate business interest and that the restriction is reasonably necessary to protect it.
Only then does the person resisting enforcement have to show the restriction is overbroad, overlong or otherwise not reasonably necessary. The statute gives judges presumptions on duration:
| Type of agreement | Presumed reasonable | Presumed unreasonable |
|---|---|---|
| Former employee, agent or independent contractor (no trade secret) | 6 months or less | More than 2 years |
| Former distributor, dealer, franchisee or licensee | 1 year or less | More than 3 years |
| Seller of all or part of a business or professional practice | 3 years or less | More than 7 years |
| Any agreement protecting trade secrets | 5 years or less | More than 10 years |
Aaron Resnick reads the duration in an agreement against these presumptions before he drafts it or challenges it.
Three other rules in chapter 542, Florida Statutes affect enforcement. A court may not consider the individual hardship the restriction causes the person who signed it.
A court must construe the agreement in favor of reasonable protection of the business interest, rather than narrowly against the drafter. If a restriction is overbroad, the court must modify it and grant only relief reasonably necessary to protect the business interest.
What Did Florida's 2025 CHOICE Act Change?
The CHOICE Act in chapter 542, Florida Statutes took effect August 15, 2025. It adds a stronger tier for a covered employee: an employee or individual contractor whose earned or reasonably expected salary exceeds twice the annual mean wage of the applicable county. Health care practitioners are excluded.
The county is where the employer has its principal place of business or, if outside Florida, where the employee lives.
For that employee, a written non-compete of up to four years requires the protections in chapter 542, Florida Statutes. The employer must provide the proposed agreement at least seven days before the offer expires and advise the employee in writing of the right to consult a lawyer.
The employee must acknowledge in writing that the employee will receive confidential information or customer relationships during the employment. The agreement must shorten the restriction day for day by time the employee spends not working during a garden leave notice period.
Under chapter 542, Florida Statutes, on a covered employer's application, a court must preliminarily enjoin a covered breach, subject to the statutory grounds for modifying or dissolving the injunction. Those grounds require clear and convincing evidence, including the specified showing concerning use of confidential information.
A covered garden leave agreement under chapter 542, Florida Statutes can provide up to four years of notice. The employee keeps the salary and benefits received in the last month before notice and, after the first 90 days, does not have to work.
For a Miami business, a qualifying sales director, fund manager or senior engineer may fall within the four year CHOICE framework. Salary above the threshold alone does not replace the agreement requirements described above. Aaron Resnick checks the salary and the agreement against the CHOICE Act's requirements before he treats an employee as covered.
Below the threshold, review the ordinary restrictive covenant rule and its applicable duration presumptions in chapter 542, Florida Statutes.
Is the FTC Non-Compete Ban in Effect?
No. The Federal Trade Commission adopted a rule in April 2024 that would have barred most new non-competes nationwide. A federal court in Texas set it aside on August 20, 2024, before it took effect. The FTC dismissed its appeals in September 2025 and removed the rule on February 12, 2026. Florida law governs a Florida non-compete.
The FTC has said it will still bring enforcement actions against specific anticompetitive non-competes, so Aaron Resnick reviews a company's agreements for that risk when it uses them across a large workforce.
How Do Florida Courts Decide Whether to Enforce One?
Enforcement usually starts with a motion for a temporary injunction in circuit court. In Miami Dade County that is the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and a qualifying dispute may be assigned to its Complex Business Litigation Division. Under chapter 542, Florida Statutes, violating an enforceable restrictive covenant creates a presumption of irreparable injury.
The court still must evaluate the business interest, the restriction and the requirements for relief.
A customer list available from public sources raises different questions from confidential customer information. A statewide restriction for a salesperson who worked one county requires review of the territory covered.
A court can narrow an overbroad restriction and enforce the narrower version under chapter 542, Florida Statutes. An overbreadth objection does not automatically defeat enforcement.
Aaron Resnick reads the customer list, the territory and the agreement's wording against chapter 542 before he files or opposes a motion for an injunction.
What Should a Miami Business Owner Do First?
A Miami business owner should act in five steps when a key employee leaves for a competitor: confirm the signed agreement, state the business interest with proof, check the employee's salary against the CHOICE Act threshold, preserve the evidence of the breach, and move fast. Aaron Resnick works through the same five steps before he files for an injunction.
- Pull the agreement and confirm that the person it binds signed the writing. The ordinary enforcement requirement is in chapter 542, Florida Statutes.
- Write down the business interest in one sentence, with the documents that prove it: the customer list and how it was built, the training invoices, the confidentiality program.
- Check the employee's salary, as chapter 542 defines it, against the county threshold. Above it, the CHOICE Act tier may apply if the agreement meets the CHOICE Act's requirements in chapter 542, Florida Statutes, including that the proposed agreement was provided at least seven days before the applicable offer expired; below it, the ordinary enforcement rule in chapter 542, Florida Statutes governs. The CHOICE Act does not say whether it reaches an agreement signed before it took effect on August 15, 2025, so Aaron Resnick reads an older agreement under both the ordinary rule and the CHOICE Act.
- Preserve the evidence of the breach: the new employer, the customers contacted, the files copied, with dates.
- Move quickly. A judge can weigh delay against an employer asking for an injunction.
What Should an Employee Do Before Signing or Leaving?
Read the duration, the territory and the definition of competing business first. If your salary is near the county threshold, check that you received the proposed agreement at least seven days before the offer expired, because the CHOICE Act requires it. Do not take files, forward emails to a personal address or contact customers before you leave.
If you already signed, bring the agreement and your offer letter to Aaron Resnick before you accept the new job.
Related pages: Miami Non-Compete Agreement Lawyer | FTC Non-Compete Ban: What Happened and What Florida Law Says | How Should a Florida Business Write a Non-Compete Agreement? | Miami Business Litigation Attorney | Contract Attorney Miami | Results and case record | In the news
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Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami resident. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner. The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents employers and employees in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in drafting, enforcing and defending non-compete agreements. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
Written by Aaron Resnick. Reviewed October 2026. This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
