Do You Have a Non-Compete? If you are subject to a non-compete, you should consult with a lawyer about what effect it may have on your business plan. A non-compete or covenant not to compete is an agreement not to compete with your employer in a certain practice and geographical area.
What happens if you break a non-compete in Texas? If a covenant not to compete is violated, a court may award the employer monetary damages and/or injunctive relief, but it will generally not be able to recover its attorney's fees.
While your non-compete would still potentially be enforceable, non-competes typically would only prevent you from working for a competitor. Since you indicate that the company that you are taking a position with is not a competitor, but is a customer, it is unlikely that your non-compete would apply.
While Texas courts generally disfavor non-compete agreements, they will enforce a non-compete covenant if it is executed for valid consideration, contains reasonable geographic, temporal, and activity restrictions, and protects the employer's legitimate business interests.
Under Texas law noncompete agreements can be enforceable if: The noncompete provision is part of an otherwise enforceable agreement. The non-compete requirement is supported by valid consideration (consideration meaning something of value provided to the employee).
The following are the most common ways to get out of a non-compete agreement: Determine that the terms of the contract do not in fact prevent you from a desired course of action. Recognize when a non-compete contradicts the law. Negotiate a release agreement with the involved parties. Ignore the agreement.
Only employees or independent contractors who earn more than the thresholds established by law can be held to non-competition agreements. If an employee or independent contractor has earnings less than the threshold specified under law, the non-compete agreements is considered void and unenforceable under RCW 49.62.
Utah courts require that non-compete restrictions be “reasonably limited in time and geographic area” in order to be valid and enforceable. Generally speaking, the geographic restriction in a non-compete provision cannot be more broad than the territory encompassed by the employer's business.
Unlike a handful of other states where non-compete agreements have few restrictions or are outright prohibited, Texas is fairly permissive on the enforcement of these agreements. Public policy ing to Texas courts has generally been to promote competition instead of limiting it.