Allowed if reasonable
Non-compete law in Nebraska
Nebraska has no statute that sets the general standard for employee noncompetes, so enforceability is a question of judge-made (common-law) reasonableness. The only noncompete-specific statute found is LB 921 (2026), which from July 1, 2027 voids noncompete clauses in a health care staffing agency's contracts with workers or health care entities. The general antitrust statute (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-801) declares contracts in restraint of trade illegal, but its official annotations do not address employee covenants.
Last verified · confidence medium. Clauseworthy is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
From July 1, 2027, an enacted change applies.
LB 921 §§ 7-15 (Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act) become operative: noncompete clauses in health care staffing agency contracts with workers or health care entities are void (§ 11). General employee-noncompete law is unchanged. Source
- Employee non-competes
- Not banned; conditions apply
- Pay floor
- None in the statute
- Duration
- No statutory cap; common-law reasonableness (not read from an official court source in this batch).
Exceptions and special rules
- Health care staffing agencies (agency contracts with workers or health care entities); includes health care technology platforms. Operative July 1, 2027: an agency may not include in any contract with a worker or a health care entity a noncompete clause restricting in any manner the worker's employment opportunities; any contract clause that violates the section is void. It also may not require liquidated damages, employment fees or other compensation if the worker is later hired permanently, except pro-rata conversion payments by the health care entity that fall to zero after no more than 720 hours of service, and payments by a foreign worker the agency helped obtain work authorization who was assigned to a single entity for an initial term of at least 24 months. Labor commissioner may impose civil penalties up to $500 (first offense) and $5,000 (each later offense) or revoke registration for up to one year. (2026 Neb. Laws LB 921, §§ 8, 11, 12, 25 (Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act))
Non-solicitation clauses
No statute addresses employee or customer non-solicitation covenants in general; common law governs.
Contracts naming another state's law
No statutory out-of-state choice-of-law or forum protection found for ordinary employees.
Remedies
No general statutory remedy scheme. For health care staffing agencies (from 2027-07-01): void clause, plus Commissioner of Labor civil penalty or registration revocation (LB 921 § 12).
Recent changes
- 2026-04-14. LB 921 approved by the Governor; its health care staffing agency provisions (§§ 7-15) are operative July 1, 2027, all other sections on their effective date. Source
Primary sources
- 2026 Neb. Laws, LB 921 (slip law, approved Apr. 14, 2026), §§ 7-15, 25 Read from an Internet Archive copy of the official page, snapshot 2026-05-07: the official site did not answer when this row was verified.
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-801 (restraint of trade; unlawful) Read from an Internet Archive copy of the official page, snapshot 2026-09-08: the official site did not answer when this row was verified.