The recognition of non-compete agreements in labour in the United States’ case laws and suggestions for Vietnam

Abstract

In the United States, non-compete agreements in labour were used very early on, based on reasonable access to the United Kingdom’s non-compete agreements in trade. Currently, non-compete agreements in labour in the US are governed by state laws and courts’ case laws. According to case laws, non-compete in labour will only be recognised based on three main criteria: 1) the agreement was negotiated by the employer and the employee; 2) the employer has legal interests that need to be protected by non-compete; 3) the agreement is reasonable. From analysing these criteria via some of the US’ case laws, the article sums up several experiences for Vietnam in creating a legal framework to regulate non-compete agreements in labour.