In a striking countermove to many states' recent laws curbing noncompetes, Florida has now flexed its legislative muscle, significantly broadened its noncompete rules with the passage of the “Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act,” which retroactively became law on July 1, 2025. Lest anyone think that Florida's approach was anything other than deliberate, the legislature's preamble to the statute - which stands in stark contrast and contradistinction to the policy position articulated by the FTC in its proposed national noncompete ban - pointedly affirms its belief that NDA, nonsolicitation and confidentiality agreements are insufficient protections for employers, and that noncompete agreements are manifestly necessary to protect employers' legitmate business interests, stating:
The Legislature finds that a proper and legitimate state interest is served by enforcing strong legal protections in contracts between employers and contracted personnel which encourage optimal levels of information sharing and training and development. The Legislature further finds that alternative means of protecting confidential information and client relationships, such as nondisclosure agreements, fixed-duration term contracts, and nonsolicitation clauses in employment contracts, are inadequate to protect against the significant global risks faced by companies in this state. The Legislature further finds that predictability in the enforcement of contracts described in this part encourages investment in this state. Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this part fulfills an important state interest.
So what are the main points of this new law?
Highlights of the New Florida Noncompete Law
- Noncompetes Can Last Up to Four (4) Years. First, and without a shred of doubt, the biggest piece of this law is that employers are now permitted to include garden leave provisions in their employment agreements that require "covered employees" to provide four years' notice before terminating their agreement, during which time those employees will be bound to a noncompete provision. (There is an important caveat to assure the noncompete's enforceability - namely, that the employer continue to pay this employee his/her salary during the garden leave period).
- Noncompetes May be Enforced Against a Very Broad Array of Employees. Second, instead of carving out executives as the lone individuals who may be restrained by a noncompete agreement, the definition of "covered employee" is anyone earning more than twice the average salary in the employer's county in the State of Florida.
- No Bonuses or Commissions Required During the Garden Leave Period. Third, the statute provides that employers are not “obligated to provide discretionary incentive compensation or benefits or have the covered employee continue performing any work during the notice period.”
- Mandatory Injunctions for Violations or Threatened Violations of the Noncompete. Fourth - and critically - the courts are obligated - not just permitted in the exercise of judicial discretion - to issue preliminary injunctions to prevent violations of these garden leave/noncompete agreements.
But you need not take my word for it; these provisions are set forth in the plain language of the statute itself:
(5) BREACH OF A COVERED GARDEN LEAVE AGREEMENT; REMEDIES.—
(a) Upon application by a covered employer seeking enforcement of a covered garden leave agreement, a court must preliminarily enjoin a covered employee from providing services to any business, entity, or individual other than the covered employer during the notice period. The court may modify or dissolve the injunction only if the covered employee establishes by clear and convincing evidence, based on nonconfidential information, that:
1. The covered employee will not perform, during the notice period, any work similar to the services provided to the covered employer during the 3-year period preceding the commencement of the notice period, or use confidential information or customer relationships of the covered employer; or
2. The covered employer has failed to pay or provide the salary and benefits provided for in the covered garden leave agreement during the notice period and has had a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure.
(b) Upon application by a covered employer seeking enforcement of a covered garden leave agreement, a court must preliminarily enjoin a business, an entity, or an individual from engaging a covered employee during the covered employee's notice period. The court may modify or dissolve the injunction only if the business, entity, or individual establishes by clear and convincing evidence, based on nonconfidential information, that:
1. The covered employee will not provide any services similar to the services provided to the covered employer during the 3-year period preceding the commencement of the notice period, or use confidential information or customer relationships of the covered employer; or
2. The business or individual seeking to employ or engage the covered employee is not engaged in, and is not planning or preparing to engage in, any business activity similar to that engaged in by the covered employer during the notice period.
The Takeaways
For anyone following the mayoral race in New York, there is little to no question that this new law will add further incentives for the many businesses that were otherwise considering leaving New York to run to Florida, with its enhanced, pro-employer (and anti-employee) bias, which is now firmly on the legislative books.
On the other hand, as noted by my colleague, Russell Beck, it is now far more likely that other jurisdictions, like New York, will opt not to enforce Florida choice of law provisions in the noncompete space.