What the agreement usually contains
Despite the name, a fair competition agreement is usually a restrictive covenant agreement: it may bar working for a competitor, soliciting clients or coworkers, or using confidential information after you leave. Some versions also assign inventions to the company or require you to tell it about a new job. The label does not change how a court reads the document, since courts look at what each clause actually restricts. The same title is sometimes used for agreements between businesses, such as in the sale of a company, and those are generally judged more leniently than restrictions on employees. Read each restriction separately, because a court may enforce some and not others.
How New York tends to treat them
New York courts generally enforce employee noncompetes only to the extent they are reasonable and protect a legitimate interest, such as trade secrets or client relationships the employer helped build, and they look closely at scope and duration. Some courts will narrow an overbroad restriction rather than discard it, though not always, particularly where the employer overreached. Whether you resigned or were let go can affect enforceability in some situations. New York lawmakers have repeatedly considered limiting noncompetes, and a nationwide ban adopted by the FTC was set aside by a court and later abandoned, so the current state of the law should be checked. Other states, California among them, treat these agreements very differently.
Before signing, or after leaving
If you have not signed yet, it is reasonable to ask what the employer is trying to protect; narrower terms, a shorter restricted period, or a carve-out for clients you bring with you are sometimes negotiable. If you have already left and received a cease-and-desist letter, respond through counsel rather than ignoring it, and do not take company files or contact lists with you. Keep your own copy of the agreement and any offer letter or payment tied to signing it. In a first meeting we review the restrictions, your new role, and what the former employer can realistically claim, and we discuss whether a response, a negotiated release, or a court filing is the right step.
