An Alaska Non-Compete Agreement is a contract between an employer and employees designed to restrict employees’ ability to take sensitive information if they go to a competing company.
Alaska is generally skeptical of non-compete agreements because they could limit workers’ ability to change jobs. However, non-compete agreements are allowed in specific situations.
Reasonable Uses and Objections
- Enforceable when terminated without cause? – Not decided.
- Employee non-solicitation agreement permitted? – Not decided.
- Customer non-solicitation agreements allowed? – Not decided.
- Does continuing employment equal sufficient consideration? – Not decided.
Legally Enforceable in Alaska?
The technical answer is that non-compete agreements are legally enforceable in Alaska. However, that does not mean that all non-compete agreements are enforceable.
Alaska courts have generally favored non-compete agreements that are narrow in scope and short in duration. A non-compete is more likely to succeed in Alaska if it is particular about what is and is not allowed and if the duration of the non-compete is relatively short. Alaskan courts tend to err on the worker’s side in legal disputes.
What’s Protected?
Non-compete agreements in Alaska can protect the following:
- Trade secrets
- Intellectual property
- Customer lists
- Goodwill with customers
- Knowledge of their business practices
- Methods
- Profit margins
- Costs
- Other confidential information that is confidential, proprietary, and increases in value from not being known by a competitor
- Other valuable employee data that the employer has provided to an employee that an employee would reasonably seek to protect or safeguard from a competitor in the interest of fairness.
Reasonable Use and Exceptions
Below are the reasonable uses for non-compete agreements in Alaska:
- Limitations in time and space
- Whether the employee was in sole contact with the customer
- Employee’s possession of trade secrets or confidential information
- Whether restriction eliminates unfair or ordinary competition
- Whether the covenant stifles an employee’s inherent skill and experience
- Proportionality of benefit to the employer and detriment to the employee
- Whether an employee’s sole means of support is barred
- Whether an employee’s talent was developed during employment
- Whether forbidden employment is incidental to the primary employment.
There are no exceptions in Alaska for non-compete agreements.
Limitations on Time
There is no set limitation on time in Alaska. However, the state has ruled that a two-year agreement is reasonable and a five-year one is not. Generally, shorter is better.
Geographical Limitations
Alaska has no set geographical limitations on non-compete agreements, but state courts have ruled against statewide agreements. Again, generally, the smaller the geographical limits, the better.
Sample
Download an Alaska Non-Compete Agreement template in PDF or Word format here:
