A Florida bill set to take effect on July 1 would extend the window during which employers can enforce noncompete agreements for up to four years.
The legislation, which awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’s signature and is called the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act, will give Florida employers the ability not only to impose longer noncompete agreements, but also make it easier to enforce them. In addition, it applies to “garden leave” agreements, which require workers to remain on the payroll of their current employer for a certain period of time before leaving for a new job.
This expected change to Florida employment law comes as other states have gone the opposite direction and moved to restrict noncompete agreements over concerns they limit workers’ earning potential and freedom of movement, while also stifling innovation.
Noncompete agreements may prohibit workers from going to work for a competing company for a certain period of time, as well as starting a competing business or recruiting workers from a previous company to work for that business.
How Florida’s noncompete law would work. The bill, which the Florida legislature passed on April 24, applies to employers or contractors that are “reasonably expected” to earn more than twice the annual mean wage of the Florida county where they’re based. If the employer isn’t based in Florida, an employee living in the state may still be covered by the legislation.
Should...
World Moscow is accused of dodging sanctions via shadow fleets to ship oil to China, India and Turkey, with CREA saying 113 Russian vessels flew false flags in 2025, moving 13% of crude worth 4.7 b...