Non-Compete Agreements

Michael Trust founded Michael Trust Law, APC after more than 35 years in HR leadership across entertainment, healthcare, higher education, finance, banking, solar energy, and other industries, including managing approximately 35,000 disability and leave-of-absence cases. He holds the SPHR, PHRca, and SHRM-SCP credentials. The PHRca is a California-specific HR credential focused on California employment law and HR practice. According to HRCI’s published pass-rate statistics at https://www.hrci.org/pass-rates, the PHRca has the lowest pass rate of all HRCI credentials — 47% as of December 31, 2025, compared with 71–84% for HRCI’s other certifications — and only 293 candidates worldwide tested for it in 2025. That HR-systems background helps identify HR process issues early, which can shape legal analysis on both sides.

Employee Non-Compete

Michael Trust Law, APC represents employees restricted by unlawful non-compete agreements. California law generally prohibits non-compete clauses that limit your ability to work. We fight to invalidate these agreements and protect your career freedom.

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California Non-Compete Agreements — Generally Unenforceable

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600 provides that every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void, subject to narrow statutory exceptions. The provision is not a balancing test — it is a near-blanket prohibition on non-compete agreements in the employment context.

What SB 699 and AB 1076 Changed

Effective January 1, 2024, two statutes strengthened Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600. SB 699 (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600.5) declared that contracts that are void under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600 are unenforceable regardless of where and when the employee signed them, including non-competes signed by out-of-state employees in other states whose laws would otherwise permit them; the statute also created a private right of action for employees against employers who attempt to enforce a void non-compete, with attorney’s fees recoverable. AB 1076 (Bus. & Prof. Code §16600.1) required employers to notify, by February 14, 2024, all current and former employees (employed after January 1, 2022) whose contracts contained an unlawful non-compete clause that the clause is void. Whether a particular agreement is enforceable in California, and what remedies may be available if the employer has tried to enforce one, is fact-specific.

When to Contact Us

If you signed a non-compete and the former employer is now threatening enforcement, or if you received notice under AB 1076, contact Michael Trust Law, APC for a 30-minute conversation about your options.

Initial contact does not create an attorney-client relationship — see Disclaimers.

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600 (general prohibition); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600.5 (SB 699 — out-of-state enforceability and private right of action); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600.1 (AB 1076 — notice requirements).

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Frequently Asked Questions

Generally not. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600 has long prohibited non-competes in employment, and SB 699 (effective 2024, codified at §16600.5) made non-competes void in California regardless of where signed, with a private right of action and attorney’s fees against an employer that attempts to enforce one.

Possibly. AB 1076 (effective 2024, codified at §16600.1) required California employers to give written notice to current and former employees employed after January 1, 2022, that any non-compete clauses are unlawful. Failure to provide the required notice was a separate unfair-competition violation under California law.

Not as a category. Non-disclosure of legitimate trade secrets and confidential business information remains enforceable. What Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §16600 prohibits is restraints on the right to engage in a lawful profession, trade, or business after the employment relationship ends — including through non-competes dressed up as confidentiality, non-solicitation, or training-repayment provisions. The analysis is fact-specific.

Michael Trust Law, APC stands with employees restricted by unlawful non-compete agreements. We fight to restore career freedom, recover damages, and hold employers accountable under California law.

Contact Michael Trust Law, APC Today