Allowed if reasonable

Non-compete law in Delaware

Delaware has no general statute on employee noncompetes (none found in the Delaware Code chapter on contracts that was read), so enforceability is a matter of judge-made reasonableness. The one statutory rule is 6 Del. C. § 2707: a covenant not to compete in an employment, partnership or corporate agreement between or among physicians that restricts practicing medicine in a locale or for a period after the agreement ends is void, while the agreement's other provisions, including damages reasonably related to the injury from termination, stay enforceable.

Last verified · confidence medium. Clauseworthy is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Employee non-competes
Not banned; conditions apply
Pay floor
None in the statute
Duration
No statutory cap for non-physicians; no statute sets duration, geography or scope.

Exceptions and special rules

  • No statutory sale-of-business rule found; the physician-covenant statute (§ 2707) does not mention sales of practices.
  • Physician (covenant in an employment, partnership or corporate agreement between and/or among physicians). A covenant not to compete that restricts the physician's right to practice medicine in a particular locale and/or for a defined period after termination of the principal agreement is void. All other provisions of the agreement remain enforceable, including provisions requiring payment of damages reasonably related to the injury suffered by termination of the principal agreement; those damages may include damages related to competition. (6 Del. C. § 2707)

Non-solicitation clauses

No statute addresses employee or customer non-solicitation covenants; common law governs (not fetched).

Contracts naming another state's law

6 Del. C. § 2708: parties to a written contract may agree that Delaware law governs if they are subject to the jurisdiction of Delaware courts or arbitration and can be served with process; the statute presumes a significant, material and reasonable relationship with Delaware. It does not apply to contracts involving less than $100,000 (§ 2708(c)(2)). The text does not mention employment covenants specifically.

Remedies

No statutory remedy scheme for noncompetes. For physician agreements, § 2707 preserves damages reasonably related to the injury suffered by termination.

Primary sources

Checker

What the statute says for these facts

Four facts. The answer leads with what the statute does at that pay, then names any change already enacted, then quotes the details with their citations.

The person who would sign

Several statutes treat contractors differently.

Other states on file