Updated:
A New Jersey non-compete agreement is a contract restricting competition by former workers. This page explains each part of the non-compete agreement template, from the Term blank to the signatures. The agreement is needed by employers, especially when a hire will see trade secrets.
Key facts
Build Your Document
Answer a few simple questions to make your document in minutes
Save and Print
Save progress and finish on any device, download and print anytime
Sign and Use
Your valid, lawyer-approved document is ready
The New Jersey non-compete agreement holds five parts: the parties and date, the term, the non-competition choices, the non-solicitation wording and the closing clauses with signatures. Each part has blanks or check boxes for the details of one working relationship.
The template is a three-page PDF with fillable fields. It names the Company and the Recipient, sets the length of the agreement and lists the types of data the Company wants kept private. The PDF calls the Recipient the Agent.
Page one holds the parties, the term and the non-competition choices. Page two holds the non-solicitation wording and the closing clauses. Page three holds the signature lines.
The agreement's two restrictions limit what the Recipient does after the relationship ends: the non-competition clause covers competing work, and the non-solicitation clause covers taking away the Company's people and business contacts.
The non-competition clause lets the Company pick how wide the restriction reaches: any business that competes with it, or only the businesses it names. A further check box limits the restriction to a geographic area, and another covers business done online.
A narrow choice is easier for both sides to read and apply. Naming the competitors or the area in plain words leaves less room for a later argument about what the Recipient agreed to.
Under this clause, the Recipient agrees not to:
The non-solicitation clause stops the Recipient from drawing away the Company's employees, contractors, customers or vendors. It protects the relationships the Company built, even where the Recipient works in a field the non-competition clause leaves open.
The clause also covers doing business with the Company's staff members on the side.
The agreement keeps the Company's confidential information secret, from inventions and plans to customer lists and financial reports. The Recipient promises not to reveal these details to anyone outside the Company, apart from the federal exception set out below.
The protected details usually include:
The confidentiality promise does not block normal work. The Recipient may share the information, when needed, with the Company's own agents, affiliates, directors and other employees.
The confidentiality promise has one exception under 18 U.S.C. 1833(b): a person is not liable under any federal or state trade secret law for disclosing a trade secret in confidence to a government official or an attorney, solely to report or investigate a suspected violation of law.
18 U.S.C. 1833(b) also protects a disclosure in a complaint or other court filing, only if the filing is made under seal.
Under 18 U.S.C. 1833(b), an employer shall give notice of this immunity in any agreement with an employee that governs the use of a trade secret or other confidential information. For this notice, 18 U.S.C. 1833(b) counts a contractor or consultant as an employee. The notice rule of 18 U.S.C. 1833(b) covers agreements entered into or updated after May 11, 2016. A cross-reference to a policy document that sets out the employer's reporting policy for a suspected violation of law also meets the notice rule of 18 U.S.C. 1833(b).
Check whether the template's confidentiality wording includes this notice before the parties sign, and add it if it does not.
Popular Local NCA Forms
A non-compete agreement, also called a non-compete clause, keeps a company's sensitive information away from its rivals after a worker leaves. These are the state non-compete pages our visitors read most often.
The agreement lasts for the number of years the parties write in the Term blank, counted from the end of the employment or contractor relationship. The parties choose that number together before they sign.
The agreement also sets the date when the Recipient's duties begin. That date can be the day both sides sign or the day the working relationship ends.
The Effective Date at the top of page one is the date the agreement itself starts. The Term counts forward from the end of the relationship, not from the Effective Date.
The closing clauses set what happens when confidential information gets out and what the Recipient hands back at the end. They turn the promises above into steps each side can act on.
The non-compete agreement is completed in page order, from the parties on page one to the signatures on page three. Type into the fillable fields or print the PDF and write in the blanks by hand.
A non-compete agreement is used when a new employee or contractor will see trade secrets, customer lists or product plans. Employers, owners, managers and HR teams prepare it, and the person who signs reads the same document and keeps a copy.
A non-compete agreement combines a ban on competing work with confidentiality and non-solicitation promises. When the Company only needs its information kept secret, and the worker stays free to work for anyone, a non-disclosure agreement covers that need without a non-competition clause.
This guide explains the template's parts and how to complete them, not whether a New Jersey judge would enforce a given clause. The guide states no New Jersey rule on non-compete agreements, because no official New Jersey source for one was confirmed for this page.
Before you sign, ask a New Jersey employment attorney to read any restriction with a long Term, a wide area or an unusual job. A shorter Term and a named list of competitors keep the agreement close to what the Company needs to protect.
A non-compete agreement is a contract in which a Recipient agrees not to compete with a Company and to keep its private details secret. Lawyers also call this kind of clause a restrictive covenant.
The agreement uses two roles:
Yes. The template names the Recipient as an employee or a contractor, and its Term counts from the end of either kind of relationship.
Non-competition limits the work the Recipient takes on, while non-solicitation limits contact with the Company's employees, contractors, customers and vendors. The template holds both clauses.
The Recipient returns all of the Company's documents and materials, both originals and copies.
Keep a signed copy for each side. Store yours with the rest of the employment file so you can find it later.
The state links on this page open non-compete agreements for other states, including California, Texas, Florida and New York.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
