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Non-compete agreements in Missouri are legal and enforceable. In Missouri, non-compete agreements are governed by a mixture of state statutes and case law. Agreements must be reasonable and the limitations imposed by the contract cannot be more excessive than necessary to protect the business owner’s interests.
According to the statute governing non-compete agreements business interests include:
Under Missouri law and the rules governing the Missouri bar, the only two types of employees that are prohibited from entering non-compete agreements are secretarial or clerical employees and attorneys.
Missouri state statutes placed a one-year maximum limit on non-compete agreements. The one-year period begins after the employee’s employment has ended. Contracts that have terms lasting more than one year will not be enforced.
To get around a non-compete agreement in Missouri, an employee must prove that the restrictions of the contract fail to protect a legitimate business interest or that the agreement too broad and unreasonable.
Missouri recognizes the principle of blue penciling. This means that a court has the authority to modify an unenforceable contract to make the contract enforceable. Courts must only modify the contract in favor if the employee. For example, if the geographic area in the contract is “statewide”, a court may deem that unreasonable and modify it to a few select counties or a 50-mile radius.
A non-compete agreement in Missouri will be void if it violates any of the statutes that governs contracts. This includes a non-compete with a duration of more than one year, or if the contract doesn’t include all essential elements of a valid contract.
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