We recently reported that Kansas was in a minority of states to enact employer-friendly restrictive covenant legislation.

Florida is on the verge of joining Kansas following the introduction of House Bill 1219 (“HB 1219”), which creates, in part, the “Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act”. If enacted, HB 1219 will provide a framework for the use of permissible noncompete and garden leave agreements between a covered employer and covered employee. If passed, the bill would strengthen the enforceability of noncompete and/or garden leave agreements.

HB 1219 outlines certain noncompete and garden leave agreement requirements, such as confidentiality access and notice periods, to accept such agreements as enforceable. So long as the requirements are met, noncompete and garden leave agreements will not be considered a restraint of trade or an attempt to monopolize trade or commerce in violation of public policy. On April 23, 2025, the House voted 91-21 to pass HB 1219, and a day later, the Senate voted 28-9 to pass BH 1219. As of April 24, 2025, the bill was ordered and enrolled.

Covered Employees and Covered Employers

HB 1219 defines “covered employee” as an employee or individual contractor who earns or is expected to earn a salary greater than twice the annual mean wage of the Florida county where the employer maintains its principal place of business, or the Florida county where the employee resides, if the employer’s principal place of business is not located within the state. Of importance, healthcare practitioners—defined under § 456.001 —are excluded from this definition. A “covered employer” is any employer who employs or engages with a “covered employee.”

Covered Noncompete Agreements

Under HB 1219, a “covered noncompete agreement” is a written agreement between a covered employee and covered employer for a period of no more than four years within the “geographic area defined in the agreement” in which the covered employee agrees not to engage in employment with another employer to (1) provide services like the services provided to the covered employer during the three years prior to the noncompete period, or (2) is reasonably likely to use the covered employer’s confidential information or customer relationships.

In addition to the above requirements, a covered employer must provide the noncompete agreement to a prospective covered employee at least seven days before an offer of employment expires, or to a current covered employee at least seven days before the offer to enter into the noncompete agreement expires.

Garden Leave Agreements

In addition to the above requirements, garden leave agreements are subject to the same notice requirements as covered noncompete agreements, described above.

Should a party breach a covered noncompete agreement or covered garden leave agreement, HB 1219 sets forth available remedies, such as injunctive relief.

Takeaways

States continue to introduce and enact legislation aimed at restrictive covenant enforceability. States like Arkansas , New York , and Texas recently introduced legislation to limit the enforceability of noncompete agreements. And while Florida seeks to permit the enforceability of noncompete agreements and garden leave agreements, HB 1219’s introduction only reinforces that state legislatures are looking to enact their own laws on the issue. Therefore, it is important that employers keep up to date with the ever-changing restrictive covenant landscape.