Plain-words guide

The non-compete on your way out: the clause that outlives the check

Severance money lasts weeks. A non-compete can last a year or two — and it is often signed in the same rushed sitting. Whether it can actually be enforced depends mostly on where you live, and narrowing it is one of the most granted asks in severance negotiation.

The map, plainly

Void: California (Bus. & Prof. Code § 16600 — void no matter how reasonable, and recent laws add penalties for even asking), Minnesota (since July 2023, § 181.988), North Dakota, and Oklahoma void most non-competes outright. Restricted: many states void them below a pay threshold (Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and others set earnings lines), or for whole professions. Enforceable: the rest generally enforce 'reasonable' ones — limited in time, territory, and scope. Your state page has your rule with its citation.

What to read in the clause itself

How long — 6 months and 24 months are different lives.
How wide — a radius, a state, a country, 'anywhere the company does business'?
What counts as competing — named rivals, an industry, or any job in your field?
What you got for it — in some states a non-compete first signed at exit needs its own consideration beyond the job you already had.

The ask that works

Companies protect information and relationships, not your unemployment. Asks that map to that: shorten the term, name the true competitors, carve out your actual next role, limit it to customers you personally served. Bring the state's law with you — politely, in writing: 'Under {state} law this clause would be tested for reasonableness; a narrower clause protects the company just as well and lets me work.' That sentence, or its local equivalent, has opened more of these clauses than any argument about fairness.

Go deeper

Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit

The clause-by-clause decoder — every clause in plain words: what it means, what to look for, the exact questions to raise
The paperwork audit (the legal checklist) — every item the law names for workers 40+, checked against your documents
The group layoff list audit (Exhibit A) — titles and ages of who was picked and who was not, checked line by line. No other tool does this
The negotiation playbook — what companies actually move on (money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, your reference) and the words that move them
Ready-to-send scripts: asking for more time, asking for changes, and the change-your-mind letter (revocation)
The red-flag page — the short list of facts that mean a lawyer's paid hour is worth it, and how to find one who does this daily

Get the SeveranceDecoded Kit — $49

One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.