Allowed if reasonable
Non-compete law in Missouri
Missouri has no statute that sets rules for employee covenants not to compete; section 431.202 says expressly that it does not create or affect their validity. Two sections cover related covenants. Section 431.202 makes covenants not to solicit, recruit or hire employees enforceable when reasonable, including between an employer and employees to protect confidential information or customer relationships, and treats a post-employment term of one year or less as conclusively reasonable. Section 431.204 (effective Aug. 28, 2023) makes owner-level covenants (employee non-solicit up to 2 years, customer non-solicit up to 5 years, notice before selling an ownership interest) presumed enforceable and directs courts to modify overbroad covenants.
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- Employee non-competes
- Not banned; conditions apply
- Pay floor
- None in the statute
- Duration
- No statutory cap for covenants not to compete. For employee non-solicitation covenants under 431.202(1)(3)-(4), a post-employment duration of one year or less is conclusively presumed reasonable (431.202(2)).
Exceptions and special rules
- 431.202(1)(1)-(2): non-solicit/no-hire covenants between businesses during acquisition negotiations or in a joint venture are enforceable when reasonable.
- 431.202(1)(4): a covenant not to solicit or hire employees, even without a protectable interest, is permitted if it lasts no more than one year after employment, but does not apply to employees providing only secretarial or clerical services (this exclusion applies to that non-solicit covenant, not to noncompetes).
- 431.204: owner covenants - employee/owner non-solicit up to 2 years after the owner's business relationship ends; customer non-solicit limited to customers the owner dealt with, up to 5 years; prior-notice-of-sale provisions presumed enforceable; court must modify an overbroad covenant and grant only relief reasonably necessary (431.204(1)-(4)).
Non-solicitation clauses
Governed by 431.202 and 431.204: reasonable written covenants not to solicit, recruit or hire employees (and, for owners, customers) are enforceable on the conditions above; 431.202(5) preserves an employee's right, and 431.204(6) an owner's right (subject to the prior-notice provision in subsection 3), to take other employment immediately.
Remedies
431.204(4): if an owner covenant is overbroad or overlong, the court shall modify and enforce it as modified, granting only the relief reasonably necessary. 431.202 states no remedy.
Which agreements it covers
431.202 has retrospective as well as prospective effect (subsection 6); effective 2001-07-01. 431.204 effective 2023-08-28.
Recent changes
- 2023-08-28. 431.204 (owner covenants) took effect (2023 S.B. 103). Source
Primary sources
- RSMo 431.202 (employment covenants enforceable, when - reasonability presumption) (official source)
- RSMo 431.204 (business covenants on employment, customers, and disposing of ownership interest) (official source)
- RSMo Chapter 431 section index (shows only 431.202 and 431.204 as employment/business covenant sections) (official source)