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Employment Law: Agreements Not To Compete

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It is unlawful to use force, threats, or other means of intimidation to prevent any person from engaging in any lawful occupation at any place he sees fit.¹

Any covenant not to compete which restricts the right of any person to receive compensation for performance of skilled or unskilled labor for any employer is void, but the following exceptions apply:

(a) Any contract for the purchase and sale of a business or the assets of a business;

(b) Any contract for the protection of trade secrets;

(c) Any contractual provision providing for recovery of the expense of educating and training an employee who has served an employer for a period of less than two years;

(d) Executive and management personnel and officers and employees who constitute professional staff to executive and management personnel.²

Even if a non-competition agreement is not void, to be enforceable the clause must satisfy an established rule of reasonableness as to both duration and geographic scope. National Graphics Co. v. Dilley, 681 P.2d 546 (Colo. App. 1984).

¹ C.R.S. 8-2-113(1), 2002. Back
² C.R.S. 8-2-113(2), 2002. Back