A New Law Makes Non-Competes Even Stronger

Florida already stood out as one of the more employer-friendly states in the country for enforcing non-compete agreements against former workers. A new law that took effect in 2025 pushed that advantage even further, and understanding exactly what changed matters for any Tampa business relying on these agreements.

Why Florida Was Already Employer-Friendly

Under Florida Statute Section 542.335, an employer seeking to enforce a non-compete only needs to prove a legitimate business interest justifying the restriction and that the restriction is reasonably necessary to protect that specific interest. Courts applying this statute cannot consider hardship to the employee as a reason to refuse enforcement, which already put Florida well ahead of most other states before any of these recent changes took effect.

What the New CHOICE Act Actually Changed

The Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth Act, known more commonly and simply as the CHOICE Act, took effect in mid-2025 and layered additional protections on top of the existing statute for a specific category of covered employees. A Tampa commercial litigation lawyer now has to determine which framework actually applies to a specific agreement, since the two laws work together rather than one simply replacing the other entirely.

How Much Longer Restrictions Can Now Last

The prior statute presumed restrictions of six months or less were reasonable for former employees, with anything beyond two years generally viewed as unreasonable and difficult to enforce. The CHOICE Act allows covered agreements to extend up to four full years for higher-earning employees, a dramatic expansion of how long a restriction can realistically last under current Florida law.

What Makes an Employee “Covered” Under the New Law

The CHOICE Act specifically targets relatively high-earning employees within Florida rather than applying broadly to every worker across the entire workforce. Several key factors determine coverage and eligibility under this new statutory framework going forward:

• Whether the employee’s total compensation level exceeds the specific threshold amount set by the statute
• Whether the agreement specifically and clearly restricts working for businesses offering genuinely similar services to the employer’s own
• Whether the employee had meaningful access to confidential information or key customer relationships during employment
• Whether the agreement includes a formal garden leave provision alongside the underlying restriction itself

Agreements that fall entirely outside this coverage remain governed by the original statute rather than the newer, more expansive framework the CHOICE Act ultimately introduced into Florida law.

Why Enforcement Got Considerably Easier

The CHOICE Act creates a strong presumption of irreparable injury tied directly to a violation and generally requires courts to issue a preliminary injunction unless the employee can rebut enforcement with clear and convincing evidence presented in court. A Tampa commercial litigation lawyer sees this shift as fundamentally changing the balance of power once a dispute actually reaches the courtroom, since employers now enter litigation with several statutory advantages already built in.

What This Means for Businesses Drafting New Agreements

Businesses updating existing agreements or carefully drafting new ones should seriously consider whether structuring a restriction to qualify under the CHOICE Act makes sense given a specific employee’s role and total compensation level. Agreements that do not meet these specific coverage requirements simply fall back to the traditional statute, which still offers real, substantial protection but without these newer, more powerful enforcement tools now available to businesses.

Getting Help With Your Restrictive Covenants

This legal area shifted meaningfully in a fairly short period of time, and businesses relying on outdated assumptions about non-compete enforcement risk drafting agreements that do not take full advantage of what current law actually allows. Chemere Ellis, PLLC has guided Tampa businesses through commercial litigation and contract disputes for years, staying current on exactly how these changes affect enforcement strategy going forward. If your business relies on restrictive covenants, reach out to make sure your agreements reflect the law as it actually stands today.