Allowed if reasonable

Non-compete law in Georgia

Georgia's Restrictive Covenants Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 13-8-50 to 13-8-59, enacted 2011) enforces reasonable restrictive covenants but allows a post-employment noncompete only against employees who customarily solicit customers, make sales, manage others, or are key employees or professionals; customer non-solicits (material-contact customers) and confidentiality covenants may bind any employee. Courts presume a post-employment restraint of two years or less reasonable and more than two unreasonable, and may modify an overbroad covenant. There is no pay threshold.

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Employee non-competes
Only within the statute's conditions
Pay floor
None in the statute
Duration
Rebuttable presumption: 2 years or less after termination is reasonable, more than 2 years is unreasonable (13-8-57(b)); against a seller of a business, the longer of 5 years or the period during which sale payments are made (13-8-57(d)); franchisees, distributors, dealers, lessees, licensees: 3 years (13-8-57(c)).

Exceptions and special rules

  • Sale of a business: the statute allows a non-compete given by a seller.
  • Post-employment noncompetes are barred (not enforceable) against an employee who does not (1) customarily and regularly solicit customers or prospects, (2) customarily and regularly make sales or obtain orders or contracts, (3) have a primary management duty, regularly direct two or more employees and have hiring/firing authority or weighty input, or (4) perform the duties of a key employee or professional (13-8-53(a))
  • Customer non-solicitation (material-contact customers) and nondisclosure covenants are carved out of that limitation (13-8-53(a), (b), (e))
  • Covenants against sellers of a business, franchisees, distributors, lessees, licensees and partners are within the Act (13-8-52(a)) with separate duration presumptions (13-8-57)
  • Employees outside the four statutory categories (customer solicitation, sales, management, key employee/professional). A noncompete restricting competition after employment ends is not enforceable against them; the 'employee' definition also excludes employees who lack selective or specialized skills, customer contacts, customer information or confidential information (13-8-51(5), 13-8-53(a)). (O.C.G.A. §§ 13-8-51(5), 13-8-53(a) (2011 Ga. Laws, Act 99 (HB 30), s. 4))

Non-solicitation clauses

O.C.G.A. 13-8-53(b): an employee may agree in writing to refrain, for a stated period after termination, from soliciting or attempting to solicit business from the employer's customers (including actively sought prospects) with whom the employee had 'material contact', for competing products or services; no geographic reference is required; the clause is construed narrowly to material-contact customers and competitive products or services. The text does not separately regulate employee non-solicitation.

Contracts naming another state's law

None in the Act as passed.

Remedies

Court shall enforce by any appropriate remedy at law or equity, including temporary and permanent injunctions (13-8-58(c)). A noncompliant covenant is void and unenforceable, but a court may modify it so long as the modification is not more restrictive than originally drafted (13-8-53(d), 13-8-54(b)). For 'employees' under 13-8-51(5)(A)-(C) the court may consider economic hardship to the employee (13-8-58(d)).

Which agreements it covers

2011-05-11 (Act effective on the Governor's approval, May 11, 2011; applies to contracts entered into on and after that date; not to actions on covenants entered into before; Act 99, section 5)

Recent changes

  • 2011-05-11. HB 30 (Act 99, 2011) repealed former Article 4 and enacted the Restrictive Covenants Act, §§ 13-8-50 to 13-8-59; signed May 11, 2011 per the legislature's status history. Source

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