A contractual clause that bars a departing employee from working for a competitor, soliciting customers, or starting a competing business for a defined period after leaving, with enforceability that varies sharply by state and country.
In April 2024 the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban nearly all employment non-competes across the United States, effective September 2024. A federal court in Texas struck the rule down nationwide that August, and the agency's appeal was still pending into 2026. The episode highlighted how unsettled US enforceability remains outside California.