Your New Employer's Non-Compete Rules

Indemnity & Start Dates

Senior hires get indemnity: the company funds enforcement defense and pays your loss if the clause fires. Junior hires don't. The start date follows the injunction clock — see the acceptance scripts, the 60-day plan, and the due diligence checklist.

The Paper Set

• Prior agreement copies in the onboarding file: your copy, dated, with scope, geography, and duration.
• Written role placement confirmation: the new role's client scope vs the prior non-compete scope.
• Carve-out consent from the ex-employer when the clause binds — the settlement menu is in the settlement guide.

Put the rule into action

Write the letter with the free Non-Compete Disclosure Letter generator. The state pages carry the local payout and notice windows, and the application tracker keeps the follow-up date in writing.

Put the rule into action

• Non-Compete Clause — what it means and what to do

Disclose before you sign, in exact wording

New employers ask you to disclose prior restrictions, and non-disclosure is both a lawsuit risk for them and a cause for termination for you. Disclose at offer stage, not on day one, and make the disclosure specific.

Send this shape: “I signed an agreement with [prior employer] dated [date] containing a non-compete, a non-solicit, and a confidentiality clause. The non-compete covers [scope] in [geography] for [duration] from [start date]. I have provided a copy. Counsel has reviewed it, and my position is that this role sits outside the restricted scope because [reason].”

• Attach your own dated copy of the agreement, complete, not a summary.
• State the scope you can work in, and ask the new employer to confirm it in writing.
• Name the review status: who read it, and whether the employer’s counsel reviewed it.
• Ask the question back: “Please confirm in writing the client set, product line, and geography my role covers, so the scope is documented before I start.”

Use the non-compete disclosure generator, and restate the confirmed scope in the offer acceptance email, so acceptance and scope are one record.

Indemnity: what to ask for at offer stage

Senior hires often get indemnity; junior hires usually do not. Ask in writing, and ask for the specific terms rather than a general promise:

• Defense costs: does the company fund counsel if the clause is enforced, and who selects the lawyer?
• Loss coverage: does it cover lost wages, fees awarded against you, and injunction-related costs?
• Scope: does it cover appeals and trade-secret claims, or only the covenant claim?
• Cap and conditions: any dollar cap, any requirement that you followed their instructions, and any exclusion if you concealed the clause.
• Timing: whether protection applies from acceptance or only after start.

Then verify the venue problem before you rely on the indemnity: the clause you signed may require you to litigate in another state, and the new employer’s protection may not follow that forum. Ask both companies in writing and compare the answers. Where an arbitration clause covers employment claims, read the arbitration entry for how the forum and the fee split work.

Onboarding rules that bind you from day one

The new employer’s own paper is often stricter than the old one’s, and it starts applying the day you accept:

• Clean-room discipline. Do not use prior-employer decks, lists, pricing, or code, even to “reference” them. Emails mentioning “our old materials” become exhibits.
• New IP assignment. Most offers assign work product created during employment; keep your pre-existing tools listed separately, dated.
• New non-solicit. The new company may restrict recruiting after you leave it, so you can be bound twice, in overlapping periods.
• Device hygiene. Use company systems for company work, and personal systems for personal records; do not sync prior-employer files into new accounts.
• Confidentiality acknowledgments. Read them before signing; they are where “do not use former employer information” becomes your written duty.

Log the dates in the application tracker: the clause start date, the restriction period, the start date, and the review confirmations. Check the covenant rules for both states on the state map, since a move across state lines changes the analysis without changing the paper you signed.

For the current text behind these numbers, start with the California job exit rules page and the New York job exit rules page, along with the Release of Claims definition and the hiring references non competes guide hub. Those sources state the rule in full; this page only points at them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to tell a new employer about my non-compete?

Usually yes, because most offers require disclosure of prior restrictive agreements, and hiding one becomes both their risk and your cause for termination. Disclose at offer stage with your dated copy and a written scope position.

What should an indemnity clause actually say?

Who funds the defense and selects counsel, whether lost wages and fee awards are covered, whether appeals and trade-secret claims are included, any dollar cap, and whether protection begins at acceptance or at start.

Can I use my old employer's materials at the new job?

No. Confidential lists, decks, pricing, and code are the classic claim exhibits, even when used for reference. Work from your own dated records and general knowledge, and keep a written clean-room habit from day one.

What if the clause names a court in another state?

Venue can force you to litigate far from home, and the new employer’s indemnity may not follow that forum. Ask both companies in writing, compare the answers, and confirm the current covenant rules for each state before you rely on either.