Employee Restrictive Covenant Agreement
Cover Terms
The terms below are incorporated into and form part of this agreement.
| Employer | [Employer Name] |
| Employee | [Employee Name] |
| Employee Title / Position | [Employee Title] |
| Effective Date | [Effective Date] |
| Governing Law | [Governing Law] |
| Confidentiality | |
| Trade Secrets Duration | [Confidentiality Trade Secret Duration] |
| Other Confidential Information Duration | [Confidentiality Other Duration] |
| Employee Non-Solicitation | |
| Duration | [Employee Nonsolicit Duration] |
| Customer Non-Solicitation | |
| Duration | [Customer Nonsolicit Duration] |
| Non-Competition | |
| Duration | [Noncompete Duration] |
| Restricted Territory | [Territory] |
| Competitive Business | [Competitive Business Definition] |
| Specified Competitors | [Specified Competitors] |
| No Business with Covered Customers | |
| Duration | [Nondealing Duration] |
| Non-Investment | |
| Duration | [Noninvestment Duration] |
| Non-Disparagement | |
| Duration | [Nondisparagement Duration] |
Standard Terms
Defined Terms
“Competitive Business” means the business activities described in Cover Terms under Competitive Business.
“Confidential Information” means non-public information relating to Employer's business, including trade secrets, customer lists, pricing, business processes, technical data, and strategic plans, but excluding information that becomes public through no fault of Employee.
“Covered Customers” means customers, vendors, referral sources, and business partners with whom Employee had material contact or for whom Employee had responsibility during the [Covered Customer Period] before termination of employment.
“Covered Employees” means employees with whom Employee worked or whom Employee managed during the [Covered Employee Period] before termination of employment.
“Passive Public Holdings” means ownership of securities of a publicly traded company representing less than [Passive Public Holdings Threshold] of any class of such company’s securities, and interests in diversified mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded funds that may hold securities of a Competitive Business.
“Protected Interests” means Employer's legitimate business interests in its Confidential Information, customer and business-partner relationships, workforce stability, and goodwill.
“Restricted Period” means the duration specified in Cover Terms for each covenant, beginning on the date Employee's employment with Employer ends for any reason.
“Restricted Territory” means the geographic area described in Cover Terms under Restricted Territory.
“Solicit” means to directly or indirectly contact, approach, induce, encourage, or provide Confidential Information to any person or entity for the purpose of diverting business away from Employer, but does not include responding to general advertisements or unsolicited inquiries not initiated by Employee.
“Trade Secrets” has the meaning given in Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-501(a)(xi).
Timing and Employee Acknowledgements
Employee acknowledges that the restrictions in this agreement are reasonable and necessary to protect Employer's Protected Interests. Employee acknowledges having had the opportunity to consult with independent legal counsel before signing this agreement. This agreement is effective as of the Effective Date listed in Cover Terms.
Confidential Information and Trade Secret Protection
Employee must treat all Confidential Information as strictly confidential. Employee must not use or disclose Confidential Information except as required to perform authorized job duties or with Employer's prior written consent. Employee's obligations regarding trade secrets continue in perpetuity. Employee's obligations regarding other Confidential Information continue for the period specified in Cover Terms. Trade secrets are protected under Wyoming law, including Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-501(a)(xi).
Practitioners may consider explicitly defining protected information to ensure that the scope of trade secrets aligns with applicable state standards, which helps to clarify the duration of confidentiality obligations and may reduce potential enforceability challenges under Wyoming law.
Practice Note →Permitted Disclosures and Protected Conduct
Nothing in this agreement prohibits Employee from: (a) reporting possible violations of law to any government agency, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or any other federal, state, or local agency; (b) making disclosures protected under whistleblower provisions of any law; (c) discussing wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment as protected by applicable law; (d) testifying truthfully in legal proceedings; or (e) filing a sealed complaint in court using Confidential Information without liability. Pursuant to the Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1833(b)), Employee may not be held criminally or civilly liable for disclosing a trade secret in confidence to a government official or attorney solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law, or in a sealed court filing.
Return, Deletion, and Certification of Company Property
Upon termination of employment, Employee must promptly return to Employer all documents, devices, files, credentials, and other materials containing or relating to Confidential Information. Where permitted, Employee must permanently delete electronic copies of Confidential Information from personal devices and accounts. Employee must certify compliance with this section in writing upon Employer's request.
Non-Solicitation of Employees
During the Restricted Period, Employee must not Solicit, recruit, hire, or attempt to hire any Covered Employee. This restriction does not prohibit Employee from providing a professional reference upon request or from hiring a person who responds to a general advertisement not directed specifically at Employer's employees.
Non-Solicitation of Customers, Vendors, Referral Sources, and Business Partners
During the Restricted Period, Employee must not Solicit the business of any Covered Customer. Practitioner sources flag uncertainty about whether Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108 could reach certain non-solicitation provisions depending on how they function.
Practitioners may want to consider whether the scope of this non-solicitation provision is sufficiently tailored to protect legitimate business interests, as overly broad restrictions might risk enforceability under Wyoming law.
Practice Note →No Business with Covered Customers
During the Restricted Period, Employee must not accept, service, or do business with any Covered Customer, regardless of whether Employee or the Covered Customer first initiated contact. This restriction is broader than non-solicitation because it applies even if the Covered Customer approaches Employee. If the Cover Terms indicate that this restriction applies, it requires a lawful restriction pathway under Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108.
Non-Competition
During the Restricted Period, Employee must not engage in, be employed by, consult for, or have an active ownership interest in any Competitive Business within the Restricted Territory. This covenant is included only because the restriction pathway specified by Employer supports its enforceability under Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108. Passive Public Holdings are permitted.
Practitioners may consider tailoring the duration and geographic scope of this restriction to align with specific business needs, as such precision likely helps demonstrate reasonableness and reduces the risk of total invalidation under Wyoming law.
Practice Note →Non-Investment
During the Restricted Period, Employee must not acquire or hold any active ownership interest in, serve as a director, officer, manager, or advisor to, or have material economic participation in any Competitive Business. This restriction primarily targets active or material ownership in private competitors. Passive Public Holdings are permitted. This covenant requires a lawful restriction pathway under Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108.
Non-Disparagement
During the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms for Non-Disparagement, Employee must not make statements that are intended to or reasonably likely to disparage Employer, its officers, directors, employees, products, or services. This section does not restrict Employee from making truthful statements in legal proceedings, providing truthful testimony, making disclosures to government agencies, or exercising rights protected by law.
Practitioners may consider drafting non-disparagement provisions to explicitly exclude protected concerted activity to help ensure compliance with evolving federal labor standards while maintaining enforceability under Wyoming law.
Practice Note →Physician-Specific Rights and Notices
If Employee is a physician, then notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement, Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108(b) preserves other enforceable provisions of this agreement even if a non-compete provision is void. A physician Employee with patients diagnosed with rare disorders (as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders) may notify those patients of their new practice location without liability under this agreement.
This provision is intended to align the agreement with Wyoming statutory protections for physicians by preserving non-compete severability and allowing patient notifications for those diagnosed with rare disorders, which may help mitigate potential enforceability risks.
Practice Note →No Conflicting Obligations
Employee represents that performing duties for Employer and complying with this agreement does not conflict with any prior agreement, court order, or legal obligation binding on Employee. Employee must promptly disclose to Employer any potential conflict that arises during employment.
Notice to Future Employers and Other Third Parties
Employer may disclose the existence and terms of this agreement to any prospective employer or business associate of Employee if Employer has a reasonable belief that Employee may breach this agreement. Employee consents to this disclosure.
Tolling During Breach
If Employee breaches any restrictive covenant in this agreement, the Restricted Period for that covenant is extended by one day for each day of the breach, so that the full duration of the restriction runs from the date the breach ends.
Practitioners may want to consider that while tolling provisions are intended to preserve the intended duration of a covenant, Wyoming courts might scrutinize such extensions for reasonableness to ensure they do not result in an overly broad restraint on trade.
Practice Note →Remedies
Employee acknowledges that a breach of this agreement may cause Employer irreparable harm for which money damages would be inadequate. Employer may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in addition to any other remedies available at law. If Employer prevails in any action to enforce this agreement, Employee must reimburse Employer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Employer does not ask any court to modify, reform, or rewrite any provision of this agreement.
Enforceability, Severability, and No Reformation Request
If any provision of this agreement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect. Consistent with Hassler v. Circle C Resources, 2022 WY 28, Employer acknowledges that Wyoming courts may decline to reform overbroad restrictive covenants and may instead void them entirely. Accordingly, this agreement does not include a reformation clause and does not request that any court rewrite its terms. Each restrictive covenant in this agreement is intended to be independently enforceable.
This clause is intended to mitigate risks by expressly disclaiming judicial reformation, which may help avoid the potential for a court to void the entire agreement if any specific provision is deemed overbroad under Wyoming law.
Practice Note →Survival and Expiration of Each Covenant
Each restrictive covenant in this agreement survives the termination of Employee's employment for the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms. Obligations under the Confidential Information and Trade Secret Protection section survive indefinitely to the extent they relate to trade secrets. All other provisions survive to the extent necessary to enforce rights that arose during employment.
Assignment and Successors
Employee may not assign this agreement or any rights or obligations under it. Employer may assign this agreement to any affiliate, successor, or acquirer of all or substantially all of Employer's business or assets. This agreement is binding on and inures to the benefit of the parties and their respective heirs, successors, and permitted assigns.
Governing Law, Venue, and Dispute Process
This agreement is governed by the law listed in Cover Terms, including Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108 for contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025. Disputes will be resolved in the courts of the Governing Law state, subject to non-waivable rights under applicable law.
Practitioners may consider that specifying Wyoming as the exclusive venue helps ensure that local courts apply relevant state statutes to the resolution of restrictive covenant disputes.
Practice Note →Entire Agreement, Amendment, Waiver, and Electronic Signatures
This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, and negotiations on this subject. This agreement may be amended only in writing signed by both parties. A party's failure to enforce any provision does not waive that party's right to enforce it later. This agreement may be executed in counterparts, including by electronic signature, each of which is an original.
Signatures
By signing this agreement, each party acknowledges and agrees to the restrictive covenant obligations above. Employee confirms having read and understood each provision, including the Cover Terms.
Employer
Signature: _______________
Print Name: [Employer Name]
Title: _______________
Date: _______________
Employee
Signature: _______________
Print Name: [Employee Name]
Date: _______________
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