Idaho Non-Compete Agreement

Idaho Code §44-2701 establishes that 18 months is a presumptively reasonable non-compete duration. Courts may uphold longer terms if the employer justifies them, but 18 months is the safe harbor. Geographic scope and the nature of the restricted activity also affect enforceability — narrower is always better.

Yes. Idaho courts apply blue-penciling — they will modify overbroad non-competes to make them enforceable rather than voiding them entirely. This means you cannot rely on courts to save a poorly drafted agreement, but it also means an overbroad agreement will not be entirely wasted. Draft carefully to protect your core interests.

Idaho courts recognize: protection of trade secrets and confidential information, customer relationships built using employer resources, and specialized training provided by the employer. General skills and industry knowledge that an employee had before employment cannot be restricted. The non-compete must be tailored to the actual interests at risk.

Yes, but courts apply the same reasonableness analysis. The key distinction is whether the IC truly operates independently or is economically dependent on the hiring company. Overly broad IC non-competes are scrutinized more heavily. As with employee non-competes, limiting the restriction to customers or projects the IC actually worked on improves enforceability.