WorkNon-compete review
Non-compete and non-solicit review in Arizona
Arizona enforces non-compete agreements that are reasonable: no broader in time, geography, and scope than needed to protect a legitimate business interest such as trade secrets or customer relationships. Courts here can also strike an unreasonable part and enforce the rest, so a clause that looks overbroad is not automatically dead. Whether yours would hold up depends on the wording, your role, and what the employer can show it is protecting. If you are being asked to sign one, or you are leaving a job that has one, you may have more room than the document suggests.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Read the restriction against Arizona law
Duration, geography, the activities covered, and the interest the employer claims. Blueshoe marks what a court would likely enforce, narrow, or reject.
- 02
Map it to your next move
What the clause would actually prevent, given the job you have or want, and what a new employer's counsel will ask.
- 03
Draft the response
A counter to a clause you are being asked to sign, or a letter to a former employer asserting the clause does not reach your new role, prepared for your review.
- 04
An attorney can negotiate
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the clause and deal with the employer or its counsel directly, on terms stated in writing first.
What the law says
What the law says about non-competes in Arizona
Are non-competes enforceable in Arizona?
Yes, when they are reasonable. Arizona courts enforce a restriction that is no broader than necessary to protect a legitimate interest, such as confidential information or customer goodwill, and that does not impose undue hardship on the employee or harm the public. A clause written to keep you from working at all is the kind courts refuse.
What makes a clause unreasonable?
Length beyond what it takes the employer to replace you and secure its relationships, a territory wider than where you actually worked, or activities broader than what you actually did. Courts weigh each against the interest claimed. A two-year, nationwide ban on a regional salesperson is a common example of overreach.
If part of it is too broad, does the whole thing fail?
Not necessarily. Arizona applies a blue-pencil rule: a court can strike grammatically severable unreasonable terms and enforce what remains, but it will not rewrite the clause. Employers often draft step-down provisions for exactly this reason, so the review has to read the structure, not just the headline numbers.
What about non-solicit and confidentiality clauses?
They are judged the same way but tend to fare better, because they protect a narrower interest. A non-solicit that bars approaching the customers you served is usually enforceable; one that bars all customers of a large company may not be. Confidentiality obligations generally survive regardless.
Did the federal rule ban non-competes?
No. The FTC's 2024 rule was set aside by a federal court before it took effect, and Arizona has no statute banning non-competes for most workers (there are specific rules for certain professions, including broadcasters). Arizona common law governs, which is why the review is clause by clause.
What it costs
Free to ask. A flat fee, quoted before any work.
Asking costs nothing, and a licensed Arizona attorney can review your situation before you decide anything. If you engage Blueshoe, the fee is a flat amount set out in a written engagement agreement before any work is billed. Some matters resolve with one letter; others need a filed claim; you know the price for each before you commit.
- Free to ask
- Written assessment before any fee
- Engagement terms in writing
- No billable hours
Questions people ask
Usually, if the job continued under it. Whether it is enforceable now depends on the same reasonableness test, and on what the employer can show it still needs to protect.
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- Wrongful terminationArizona is at-will, but the Arizona Employment Protection Act makes some firings unlawful: retaliation, refusing to break the law, breach of contract.Read more
- Layoff rightsFinal pay timing, the federal WARN Act's 60-day notice for larger layoffs, COBRA, unemployment, and the severance release you are being asked to sign.Read more
Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed 2026-10-08 · Full bio →