Florida CHOICE Act Strengthens Noncompetes for Employers
Author: Robert S. Teachout, Brightmine Legal Editor
July 7, 2025
In a move that runs counter to many other states, Florida has enacted a new law that boosts protections for noncompete agreements in favor of employers. While the trend has been for states to restrict noncompetes to safeguard employee rights, Florida's approach gives employers greater ability to protect and secure their business interests.
The Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act authorizes two new frameworks for qualifying noncompete agreements signed on or after July 1, 2025. The Act applies only to highly compensated employees, other than health care practitioners.
The Act authorizes covered employers to enter into a noncompete agreement or a "garden leave" agreement with a covered employee that may extend for up to four years after separation. The law also expressly provides that a covered garden leave or noncompete agreement does not violate state antitrust laws.
To be covered, an employee must be paid a base salary (excluding bonuses and commissions) at least twice the annual mean wage for the county where the employee works or where the employer has its principal place of business. In addition, the CHOICE Act applies only where either a covered employee's primary place of work or the employer's principal place of business is in Florida.
The CHOICE Act also implements remedies that strongly favor enforcement. If an employer seeks enforcement of a covered agreement, courts are required to issue a preliminary injunction blocking a business from engaging the covered employee during the noncompete period. To modify or remove the injunction, covered employees or the entities seeking to employ them must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the employee's employment will not violate the terms of the noncompete or garden leave agreement. In addition, a covered employer is entitled to monetary damages and attorney fees and costs.