# Employee Restrictive Covenant Agreement

## Cover Terms

The terms below are incorporated into and form part of this agreement.

Employer
: {employer_name}

Employee
: {employee_name}

Employee Title / Position
: {employee_title}

Effective Date
: {effective_date}

Governing Law
: {governing_law}

Confidentiality

Trade Secrets Duration
: {confidentiality_trade_secret_duration}

Other Confidential Information Duration
: {confidentiality_other_duration}

Customer Non-Solicitation

Duration
: {customer_nonsolicit_duration}

Covered Customer Period
: {covered_customer_period}

Non-Investment

Duration
: {noninvestment_duration}

Passive Public Holdings Threshold
: {passive_public_holdings_threshold}

Non-Disparagement

Duration
: {nondisparagement_duration}

## Standard Terms

### Defined Terms

[[Competitive Business]] means the same business or profession as that of Employer, described in Cover Terms under Competitive Business.

[[Confidential Information]] means non-public information relating to Employer's business, including trade secrets, customer lists, pricing, business processes, technical data, and strategic plans, but excluding information that becomes public through no fault of Employee.

[[Covered Customers]] means existing customers of Employer with whom Employee had material contact or for whom Employee had responsibility during the 12 months before termination of the agreement. This definition does not reach prospective customers, former customers, or an entire market.

[[Covered Employees]] means employees with whom Employee worked or whom Employee managed during the 12 months before termination of the agreement.

[[Passive Public Holdings]] means ownership of securities of a publicly traded company representing less than {passive_public_holdings_threshold} of any class of such company's securities, and interests in diversified mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded funds that may hold securities of a Competitive Business.

[[Protected Interests]] means Employer's legitimate interests in its Confidential Information and Trade Secrets, its relationships with its existing customers, and its goodwill.

[[Restricted Period]] means the duration specified in Cover Terms for each covenant, beginning on the date of termination of this agreement.

[[Restricted Territory]] means the specified county, first- or second-class municipality, or other specified area described in Cover Terms under Restricted Territory in which Employer continues to carry on a like business.

[[Solicit]] means to directly or indirectly contact, approach, induce, or encourage any person or entity for the purpose of diverting business away from Employer. Soliciting is affirmative outreach; it does not include accepting, servicing, or selling to a Covered Customer who initiates contact without solicitation by Employee, and it does not include responding to general advertisements or unsolicited inquiries not initiated by Employee.

[[Trade Secrets]] means information qualifying as a trade secret under applicable law.

### Recitals and Statutory Basis

Employer and Employee acknowledge that the restrictive covenants protect Employer's Protected Interests and are limited by their stated scope, territory, and duration.

### Timing, Consideration, and Acknowledgements

Employee agrees to these covenants in exchange for employment, compensation, and access to Employer's Confidential Information. Employee acknowledges having had the opportunity to consult an attorney before signing. This agreement is effective as of the Effective Date listed in Cover Terms.

### Confidential Information and Trade Secret Protection

Employee must treat all Confidential Information as strictly confidential. Employee must not use or disclose Confidential Information except as required to perform authorized job duties or with Employer's prior written consent. Employee's obligations regarding trade secrets continue in perpetuity for as long as the information remains a trade secret. Employee's obligations regarding other Confidential Information continue for the period specified in Cover Terms.

### Permitted Disclosures and Protected Conduct

Nothing in this agreement prohibits Employee from: (a) reporting possible violations of law to any government agency, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or any other federal, state, or local agency; (b) making disclosures protected under whistleblower provisions of any law; (c) discussing wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment as protected by applicable law; (d) testifying truthfully in legal proceedings; or (e) filing a sealed complaint in court using Confidential Information without liability. Pursuant to the Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b), Employee may not be held criminally or civilly liable for disclosing a trade secret in confidence to a government official or attorney solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law, or in a sealed court filing.

### Return, Deletion, and Certification of Company Property

Upon termination of employment, Employee must promptly return to Employer all documents, devices, files, credentials, and other materials containing or relating to Confidential Information. Where permitted, Employee must permanently delete electronic copies of Confidential Information from personal devices and accounts. Employee must certify compliance with this section in writing upon Employer's request.

### Non-Solicitation of Existing Customers

During the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms for Customer Non-Solicitation, Employee must not Solicit any Covered Customer within the Restricted Territory while Employer continues to carry on a like business there. This covenant prohibits only affirmative solicitation and does not prohibit Employee from accepting, servicing, or selling to a customer who contacts Employee without solicitation. The Restricted Period does not exceed two years after termination.

### Non-Investment

During the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms for Non-Investment, Employee must not acquire or hold any active ownership interest in, serve as a director, officer, manager, or advisor to, or have material economic participation in any Competitive Business within the Restricted Territory. This restriction is subject to the same Restricted Territory, like-business condition, and Restricted Period as the Non-Competition covenant. Passive Public Holdings are permitted.

### Non-Disparagement

During the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms for Non-Disparagement, Employee must not make statements that are intended to or reasonably likely to disparage Employer, its officers, directors, employees, products, or services. This section does not restrict Employee from making truthful statements in legal proceedings, providing truthful testimony, making disclosures to government agencies, or exercising rights protected by law, including protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.

### Healthcare Practitioner Carve-Out

The post-employment restrictions do not restrict Employee from providing professional services within Employee's applicable licensed scope of practice. This exclusion does not apply to a restriction arising from the sale of a practice or to a permitted restriction on soliciting current patients or clients.

### No Restraint Through a Third-Party Agreement

Employer's rights under this agreement rest on Employee's own covenants. Employer does not use, and this agreement does not incorporate, any no-hire, no-solicit, or no-recruit clause in any agreement between Employer and a customer, vendor, or other third party as a means of restraining Employee.

### No Conflicting Obligations

Employee represents that performing duties for Employer and complying with this agreement does not conflict with any prior agreement, court order, or legal obligation binding on Employee. Employee must promptly disclose to Employer any potential conflict that arises during employment.

### Notice to Future Employers and Other Third Parties

Employer may disclose the existence and terms of this agreement to any prospective employer or business associate of Employee if Employer has a reasonable belief that Employee may breach this agreement. Employee consents to this disclosure.

### Tolling During Breach

If Employee breaches any restrictive covenant in this agreement, Employer may seek to extend the Restricted Period for that covenant by one day for each day of the breach. No extension may cause the Restricted Period to continue for more than two years after termination.

### Remedies

Employee acknowledges that a breach of this agreement may cause Employer irreparable harm for which money damages would be inadequate, and Employer may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in addition to any other remedies available at law. Employer may also pursue remedies for trade-secret misappropriation available under applicable law.

### Statutory Fit and Severability

If any provision is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law, and the remaining provisions will remain in effect.

### Survival and Expiration of Each Covenant

Each restrictive covenant in this agreement expressly survives the termination or expiration of Employee's employment and of this agreement, including the expiration of any fixed term, for the Restricted Period specified in Cover Terms for that covenant. The parties intend this survival to apply covenant by covenant, so that a covenant remains in effect for its Restricted Period even if this agreement otherwise ends by its own terms. Obligations under the Confidential Information and Trade Secret Protection section survive to the extent they relate to trade secrets for as long as the information remains a trade secret. All other provisions survive to the extent necessary to enforce rights that arose during employment.

### Assignment and Successors

Employee may not assign this agreement or any rights or obligations under it. Employer may assign this agreement to any affiliate, successor, or acquirer of all or substantially all of Employer's business or assets. Any assignee or successor takes this agreement subject to all limitations and conditions applicable to Employer and acquires no greater rights than Employer holds under it. This agreement is binding on and inures to the benefit of the parties and their respective heirs, successors, and permitted assigns.

### Governing Law, Venue, and Dispute Process

This agreement is governed by the law listed in Cover Terms. Disputes will be resolved in the courts of the Governing Law state, subject to non-waivable rights under applicable law.

### Entire Agreement, Amendment, Waiver, and Electronic Signatures

This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, and negotiations on this subject. This agreement may be amended only in writing signed by both parties. A party's failure to enforce any provision does not waive that party's right to enforce it later. This agreement may be executed in counterparts, including by electronic signature, each of which is an original.

## Signatures

By signing this agreement, each party acknowledges and agrees to the restrictive covenant obligations above. Employee confirms having read and understood each provision, including the Cover Terms.

Employer: {employer_name}

Signature: _______________
Signatory Name: {employer_signatory_name}
Title: {employer_signatory_title}
Date: _______________

**Employee**

Signature: _______________
Print Name: {employee_name}
Date: _______________