For years, Florida employers who wanted a non-compete to hold up had to be ready to justify it. How long, how wide, and why it was necessary were all open questions a judge could second-guess. The CHOICE Act, effective July 1, 2025, changes that for one specific group of workers by allowing restrictions of up to four years and putting the burden on the employee to prove the agreement should not be enforced. A Palm Harbor business attorney can tell you whether your agreements qualify and what has to change if you want them to.
What Is the Florida CHOICE Act?
The Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth Act is a new part of Florida’s antitrust chapter, found at sections 542.41 through 542.45. It does not replace the older non-compete statute. It runs alongside it. Agreements that meet the CHOICE Act’s requirements get a much stronger enforcement track. Everything else, including every agreement signed before July 1, 2025, stays under the familiar rules of section 542.335, where the employer still has to prove a legitimate business interest and reasonable scope.
Who Counts as a Covered Employee?
Not most of your workforce. A covered employee is one who earns, or is reasonably expected to earn, a salary greater than twice the annual mean wage of the Florida county where the employer’s principal place of business sits. If the employer is based outside Florida, the county where the employee lives controls instead. Across Florida’s counties, that threshold generally falls somewhere between roughly $80,000 and $150,000, so a Pinellas County employer should confirm the current figure rather than assume it.
Two limits matter here. Salary means base compensation, not discretionary bonuses, tips, or commissions you cannot pin down in advance. And licensed health care practitioners are excluded from the CHOICE Act entirely, though the older statute still applies to them.
What Does a Covered Non-Compete Have to Include?
The procedural requirements are strict, and missing one drops the agreement back under the old rules. A covered non-compete must be in writing, define the geographic area, and run no longer than four years. Before signing, the worker must be told in writing that they have the right to consult an attorney and must be given the agreement at least seven days before the offer expires. The worker also has to acknowledge in writing that they received confidential information or client relationships. If a garden leave arrangement runs alongside it, the non-compete period shrinks day for day during any nonworking part of the notice period.
What Happens When a Covered Employee Goes to a Competitor?
This is where the shift is sharpest. On the employer’s application, a court must enter a preliminary injunction against the departing worker. To get out from under it, the employee has to show by clear and convincing evidence that they will not perform similar work or use confidential information, that the new employer is not a competitor in the covered area, or that the former employer failed to pay what the agreement promised and did not fix it. An employer that prevails can recover damages along with attorney’s fees.
What Should Palm Harbor Employers Do Now?
Start by sorting your agreements by date. Anything signed before July 1, 2025 is not covered, and no amount of wishful reading changes that. If you want the new protections for a key employee, you need a fresh agreement built to the statute, including the seven-day review window and the written acknowledgments. It is also worth asking whether a four-year restriction is what your business actually needs. Longer is not automatically better, and a court still has room to modify an agreement it finds overbroad.
Talk With a Palm Harbor Business Attorney
Whether you are drafting a new agreement for a key hire or trying to figure out what the one in your file is worth, the details decide the outcome. Contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Herzog, P.A. to review your agreements before you need to enforce one.