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  "data": {
    "topic": "non-compete",
    "state": "utah",
    "frontmatter": {
      "title": "Non-Competes in Utah",
      "description": "Utah caps employee non-competes at one year under the Post-Employment Restrictions Act (Utah Code § 34-51-201), voids longer covenants, shifts fees to employers who enforce invalid ones, keeps the common-law Rose Park reasonableness test, and bans healthcare and veterinarian non-competes from May 6, 2026.",
      "state": "Utah",
      "lastReviewed": "2026-06-02",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "authors": [
        "steven-obiajulu"
      ],
      "summary": {
        "enforceability": "reasonable",
        "bottomLine": "Utah enforces employee non-competes only if they satisfy both the common-law Rose Park reasonableness test and a hard one-year statutory cap, and it bans healthcare and veterinarian non-competes entered on or after May 6, 2026.",
        "keyLaw": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 (Post-Employment Restrictions Act)",
        "exceptions": "Health-care worker & veterinarian bans (5% owner carve-out) from May 6, 2026; sale-of-business; reasonable severance; narrow broadcasting exception",
        "courtNarrowing": "no",
        "appliesToContractors": "n/a",
        "extendedForBreach": "No safe extension — one-year cap runs from separation; equitable tolling within the cap open",
        "maxLength": "1 year (a longer covenant is void)",
        "noticeRequirement": "None",
        "incomeThreshold": "None",
        "saleOfBusiness": "Exempt from one-year cap if value received for sale",
        "customerNonSolicit": "One-year cap does not apply",
        "employeeNonSolicit": "One-year cap does not apply"
      },
      "about": [
        "Utah non-compete agreements",
        "Utah Post-Employment Restrictions Act",
        "Utah Code 34-51-201 one-year limit",
        "Utah non-compete reasonableness test",
        "Utah non-compete fee shifting",
        "Utah healthcare non-compete ban",
        "Utah veterinarian non-compete ban",
        "Utah non-solicitation and trade secrets"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "language": "中文",
          "status": "planned"
        },
        {
          "language": "Español",
          "status": "planned"
        },
        {
          "language": "Português",
          "status": "planned"
        },
        {
          "language": "Deutsch",
          "status": "planned"
        }
      ],
      "relatedForm": {
        "slug": "openagreements-restrictive-covenant-utah"
      }
    },
    "questions": [
      {
        "slug": "employee-non-compete-enforceability",
        "label": "Are employee non-competes enforceable in Utah?",
        "heading": "Are employee non-compete agreements enforceable in Utah?",
        "answerText": "Yes, but on a short leash. Utah enforces employee non-competes when they satisfy both the statute and the common law, yet the Post-Employment Restrictions Act caps any post-employment non-compete entered on or after May 10, 2016 at one year and voids anything longer.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "upera-one-year",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the one-year statutory ceiling on post-employment non-competes entered on or after May 10, 2016.",
            "verbatimQuote": "an employer and an employee may not enter into a non-compete agreement for a period of more than one year from the day on which the employee is no longer employed by the employer.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-upera-one-year"
          },
          {
            "id": "england-rose-park-test",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=These%20requirements%20are%3A%20(1)%20the,as%20to%20time%20and%20area.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports Utah's four-part common-law test for restrictive covenants: consideration, good faith, protection of goodwill, and reasonable time and area limits.",
            "verbatimQuote": "These requirements are: (1) the covenant must “be supported by consideration,” (2) “no bad faith” was involved “in the negotiation of the contract,” (3) the covenant must “be necessary to protect the goodwill of the business,” and (4) the covenant must “be reasonable in its restrictions as to time and area.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-england-rose-park-test"
          },
          {
            "id": "robbins-legitimate-interests",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Robbins v. Finlay",
            "citation": "Robbins v. Finlay, 645 P.2d 623 (Utah 1982).",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/#:~:text=Covenants%20not%20to%20compete%20are,legitimate%20interests%20of%20the%20employer.",
            "proposition": "Robbins v. Finlay supports the rule that a Utah non-compete is enforceable only if carefully drawn to protect the employer's legitimate interests, not ordinary competition.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Covenants not to compete are enforceable if carefully drawn to protect only the legitimate interests of the employer.",
            "date": "1982-03-23",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-robbins-legitimate-interests"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "duration-limits",
        "label": "How long can a Utah non-compete last?",
        "heading": "How long can a Utah non-compete last before it is void?",
        "answerText": "One year. For non-competes entered on or after May 10, 2016, an employer and employee may not agree to a post-employment restriction longer than one year from separation, and a covenant that violates the cap is void.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "dur-one-year",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the one-year maximum duration for post-employment non-competes.",
            "verbatimQuote": "an employer and an employee may not enter into a non-compete agreement for a period of more than one year from the day on which the employee is no longer employed by the employer.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-dur-one-year"
          },
          {
            "id": "dur-void",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(c).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports voiding any non-compete that exceeds the one-year limit.",
            "verbatimQuote": "A non-compete agreement that violates this Subsection (1) is void.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-dur-void"
          },
          {
            "id": "dur-broadcasting",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(2)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the limited broadcasting-employee exception with its own validity conditions.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a non-compete agreement between a broadcasting company and a broadcasting employee is valid only if: (i) the broadcasting employee is an exempt broadcasting employee; (ii) the non-compete agreement is part of a written employment contract of reasonable duration",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-dur-broadcasting"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "reasonableness-test",
        "label": "What makes a Utah non-compete reasonable?",
        "heading": "What makes a Utah non-compete reasonable under the common law?",
        "answerText": "Utah applies the four-part Rose Park test: the covenant must be supported by consideration, negotiated without bad faith, necessary to protect the business's goodwill, and reasonable in its time and area restrictions.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "reason-four-part",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=These%20requirements%20are%3A%20(1)%20the,as%20to%20time%20and%20area.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports the four-part Rose Park reasonableness test for Utah restrictive covenants.",
            "verbatimQuote": "These requirements are: (1) the covenant must “be supported by consideration,” (2) “no bad faith” was involved “in the negotiation of the contract,” (3) the covenant must “be necessary to protect the goodwill of the business,” and (4) the covenant must “be reasonable in its restrictions as to time and area.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-reason-four-part"
          },
          {
            "id": "reason-case-by-case",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=The%20reasonableness%20of%20the%20restraints,case%20and%20the%20subject%20covenant.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports the rule that reasonableness of a restrictive covenant is assessed case by case on its particular facts.",
            "verbatimQuote": "The reasonableness of the restraints in a restrictive covenant is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the particular facts and circumstances surrounding the case and the subject covenant.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-reason-case-by-case"
          },
          {
            "id": "reason-legitimate-interests",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Robbins v. Finlay",
            "citation": "Robbins v. Finlay, 645 P.2d 623 (Utah 1982).",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/#:~:text=Covenants%20not%20to%20compete%20are,legitimate%20interests%20of%20the%20employer.",
            "proposition": "Robbins v. Finlay supports limiting enforceable non-competes to those carefully drawn to protect the employer's legitimate interests.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Covenants not to compete are enforceable if carefully drawn to protect only the legitimate interests of the employer.",
            "date": "1982-03-23",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-reason-legitimate-interests"
          },
          {
            "id": "reason-good-faith",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=Addressing%20the%20employee%E2%80%99s%20concerns%20about,to%20a%20long%20restrictive%20covenant.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports treating the good-faith prong as a meaningful check, implicated by a quick hire-and-fire used to bind an employee to a long covenant.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Addressing the employee’s concerns about potential inequities, the court reasoned that the good faith prong of the noncompete analysis might be implicated if an employer quickly hires and fires an at will employee with the sole intent of binding that employee to a long restrictive covenant.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-reason-good-faith"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "consideration",
        "label": "Is continued employment enough consideration in Utah?",
        "heading": "Is continued or at-will employment enough consideration for a Utah non-compete?",
        "answerText": "Yes. Utah departs from the stricter national trend: an offer of employment, including continued at-will employment, can be sufficient consideration for a non-compete, even when the employee signs after starting work.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "consid-england",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=Regardless%20of%20what%20other%20jurisdictions,consideration%20for%20a%20noncompete%20agreement.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports the rule that an offer of employment can constitute consideration for a Utah non-compete.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Regardless of what other jurisdictions have held, it’s settled in Utah that an offer of employment can constitute consideration for a noncompete agreement.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-consid-england"
          },
          {
            "id": "consid-allen",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Allen v. Rose Park Pharmacy",
            "citation": "Allen v. Rose Park Pharmacy, 237 P.2d 823 (Utah 1951).",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1199226/allen-v-rose-park-pharmacy/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1199226/allen-v-rose-park-pharmacy/#:~:text=a%20contract%20does%20not%20lack,obligation%20of%20the%20other%20party.",
            "proposition": "Allen v. Rose Park Pharmacy supports upholding a non-compete in an at-will contract, reasoning that a contract is not invalid merely because its terms are harsh or unequal.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a contract does not lack mutuality merely because its terms are harsh or its obligations unequal, or because every obligation of one party is not met by an equivalent counter obligation of the other party.",
            "date": "1951-11-19",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-consid-allen"
          },
          {
            "id": "consid-good-faith",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=Addressing%20the%20employee%E2%80%99s%20concerns%20about,to%20a%20long%20restrictive%20covenant.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports applying the good-faith prong to a quick hire-and-fire used to bind an employee to a long covenant.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Addressing the employee’s concerns about potential inequities, the court reasoned that the good faith prong of the noncompete analysis might be implicated if an employer quickly hires and fires an at will employee with the sole intent of binding that employee to a long restrictive covenant.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-consid-good-faith"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "geographic-scope",
        "label": "How is geographic scope judged in Utah?",
        "heading": "How do Utah courts judge a non-compete's geographic scope?",
        "answerText": "By the employer's actual market, not by arbitrary mileage. A restrictive covenant is generally enforceable if it covers an area no greater than the territory the business actually serves.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "geo-no-greater",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=a%20restrictive%20covenant%20is%20generally,to%20which%20the%20business%20extends.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports tying enforceable geographic scope to the area the business actually serves.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a restrictive covenant is generally enforceable if it specifies an area no greater than that to which the business extends.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-geo-no-greater"
          },
          {
            "id": "geo-footprint",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transport Service, LLC",
            "citation": "England Logistics, Inc. v. Kelle's Transp. Serv., LLC, 2024 UT App 137.",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10141125/england-logistics-v-kelles-transport-service/#:~:text=We%20disagree%20with%20the%20assertion,the%20geographic%20scope%20was%20unreasonable.",
            "proposition": "England Logistics supports the appellate holding that a nationwide geographic scope was not unreasonable where the employer's operations are themselves national.",
            "verbatimQuote": "We disagree with the assertion that the geographic scope was unreasonable.",
            "date": "2024-10-03",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-geo-footprint"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "fee-shifting",
        "label": "What happens if an employer enforces an invalid Utah non-compete?",
        "heading": "What happens if an employer tries to enforce an unenforceable non-compete?",
        "answerText": "The employer pays. If an employer pursues arbitration or a civil action to enforce a non-compete that is then found unenforceable, the statute makes the employer liable for the employee's arbitration costs, attorney fees and court costs, and actual damages.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "fee-shift",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-301",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-301.",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S301.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-301 supports employer liability for the employee's arbitration costs, attorney fees, court costs, and actual damages when an enforced covered agreement or clause is found unenforceable.",
            "verbatimQuote": "the employer is liable for the employee's: (1) costs associated with arbitration; (2) attorney fees and court costs; and (3) actual damages.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-fee-shift"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "non-solicitation-nda",
        "label": "Do the one-year cap and penalties reach non-solicits and NDAs?",
        "heading": "Do Utah's one-year cap and penalties apply to non-solicitation and nondisclosure agreements?",
        "answerText": "The one-year cap does not, but the penalty can. The Act's definition of a non-compete agreement expressly excludes nonsolicitation, nondisclosure, and confidentiality agreements, so those covenants are not bound by the one-year cap and instead answer to the common-law reasonableness test.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "carve-definition",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-102",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-102(8)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S102.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-102 supports the statutory definition of a non-compete agreement as an agreement not to compete by providing a similar product, process, or service.",
            "verbatimQuote": "“Non-compete agreement” means an agreement, written or oral, between an employer and employee under which the employee agrees that on or after the day on which the employer no longer employs the employee, the employee, either alone or as an employee of another person, will not compete with the employer in providing a product, process, or service that is similar to the employer's product, process, or service.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-carve-definition"
          },
          {
            "id": "carve-exclusion",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-102",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-102(8)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S102.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-102 supports excluding nonsolicitation, nondisclosure, and confidentiality agreements from the statutory non-compete definition.",
            "verbatimQuote": "“Non-compete agreement” does not include: (i) a nonsolicitation agreement; (ii) a nondisclosure agreement; or (iii) a confidentiality agreement.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-carve-exclusion"
          },
          {
            "id": "carve-fee-shift",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-301",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-301.",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S301.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-301 supports that the fee-shifting penalty reaches a nondisclosure clause or nonsolicitation agreement an employer unsuccessfully tries to enforce, even though those clauses are outside the one-year cap.",
            "verbatimQuote": "the employer is liable for the employee's: (1) costs associated with arbitration; (2) attorney fees and court costs; and (3) actual damages.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-carve-fee-shift"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "sale-severance",
        "label": "Do the sale-of-business and severance exceptions apply?",
        "heading": "Are sale-of-business and severance non-competes exempt from the one-year cap?",
        "answerText": "Yes. The Act does not prohibit a reasonable severance agreement agreed in good faith at or after termination, nor a non-compete tied to the sale of a business where the restricted person receives value from the sale.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "exc-severance",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-202",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-202(1)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S202.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-202 supports the exception for a reasonable severance agreement that includes a non-compete agreed in good faith at or after termination.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a reasonable severance agreement mutually and freely agreed upon in good faith at or after the time of termination that includes a non-compete agreement or a healthcare non-compete agreement",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-exc-severance"
          },
          {
            "id": "exc-sale",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-202",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-202(1)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S202.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-202 supports the sale-of-business exception where the restricted individual receives value related to the sale.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a non-compete agreement or a healthcare non-compete agreement related to or arising out of the sale of a business, if the individual subject to the non-compete agreement or healthcare non-compete agreement receives value related to the sale of the business.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-exc-sale"
          },
          {
            "id": "exc-severance-commonlaw",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-202",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-202(2).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S202.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-202 supports that a severance agreement remains subject to common-law requirements even when exempt from the statutory cap.",
            "verbatimQuote": "a severance agreement remains subject to any requirements imposed under common law.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-exc-severance-commonlaw"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "healthcare-veterinarian",
        "label": "Are healthcare and veterinarian non-competes banned in Utah?",
        "heading": "Are non-competes banned for healthcare workers and veterinarians in Utah?",
        "answerText": "Yes, as of May 6, 2026. A person and a healthcare worker may not enter into a healthcare non-compete agreement, and a person and a veterinarian may not enter into a veterinarian non-compete agreement unless the veterinarian holds at least a 5% ownership interest in the business.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "hc-ban",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the prohibition on healthcare non-compete agreements on or after May 6, 2026.",
            "verbatimQuote": "On or after May 6, 2026, a person and a healthcare worker may not enter into a healthcare non-compete agreement.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-hc-ban"
          },
          {
            "id": "vet-ban",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(3)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the prohibition on veterinarian non-compete agreements on or after May 6, 2026.",
            "verbatimQuote": "on or after May 6, 2026, a person and a veterinarian may not enter into a veterinarian non-compete agreement.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-vet-ban"
          },
          {
            "id": "vet-exception",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(3)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports the 5% ownership exception to the veterinarian non-compete ban.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Subsection (3)(a) does not apply if the veterinarian has at least a 5% ownership interest in the person's business.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-vet-exception"
          },
          {
            "id": "hc-nonsolicit",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-203",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-203(1).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S203.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-203 supports prohibiting a healthcare nonsolicitation agreement that bars a worker from informing patients of their current or future place of employment.",
            "verbatimQuote": "On or after May 6, 2026, a person and a healthcare worker may not enter into nonsolicitation agreement that prevents a healthcare worker from informing a patient of any of the following: (a) the healthcare worker's current place of employment; or (b) the healthcare worker's future place of employment.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-hc-nonsolicit"
          },
          {
            "id": "hc-worker-def",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-102",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-102(5)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S102.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-102 supports that a healthcare worker does not include a license-holder whose role does not require practicing under the scope of that license.",
            "verbatimQuote": "“Healthcare worker” does not include an individual: (i) who holds a license described in Subsection (5)(a)(i) through (xxxiii) ; and (ii) whose employment or contractual agreement does not require or involve practicing under the scope of the individual's license.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-hc-worker-def"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "court-narrowing",
        "label": "Will a Utah court narrow an overbroad non-compete?",
        "heading": "Will a Utah court blue-pencil or rewrite an overbroad non-compete?",
        "answerText": "Probably not for the duration problem, and the broader reformation question is unsettled. The statute makes an over-length covenant void rather than voidable, which most commentary reads as stripping courts of the power to trim it to a lawful term.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "narrow-void",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(c).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports treating an over-length covenant as void, which weighs against judicial narrowing of duration.",
            "verbatimQuote": "A non-compete agreement that violates this Subsection (1) is void.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-narrow-void"
          },
          {
            "id": "narrow-careful-drafting",
            "authorityType": "case-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Robbins v. Finlay",
            "citation": "Robbins v. Finlay, 645 P.2d 623 (Utah 1982).",
            "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/",
            "deepLink": "https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1231169/robbins-v-finlay/#:~:text=Covenants%20not%20to%20compete%20are,legitimate%20interests%20of%20the%20employer.",
            "proposition": "Robbins v. Finlay supports the common-law preference for enforcing only carefully drawn covenants that protect legitimate interests, rather than covenants that merely restrain ordinary competition.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Covenants not to compete are enforceable if carefully drawn to protect only the legitimate interests of the employer.",
            "date": "1982-03-23",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-narrow-careful-drafting"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "extended-for-breach",
        "label": "Does a Utah non-compete toll or extend during breach or litigation?",
        "heading": "Does the restricted period toll or extend during breach or litigation in Utah?",
        "answerText": "Utah has no statute or staged case squarely deciding judicial tolling, but the structure of the Act cuts hard against an extension clause. Because a non-compete may not exceed one year and a longer one is void, a clause that lengthens the restricted period during breach or litigation risks pushing the covenant past the statutory ceiling and voiding it.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "toll-one-year",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(a).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports measuring the one-year limit from the day employment ends, constraining any tolling or extension that lengthens the period.",
            "verbatimQuote": "an employer and an employee may not enter into a non-compete agreement for a period of more than one year from the day on which the employee is no longer employed by the employer.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-toll-one-year"
          },
          {
            "id": "toll-void",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-201",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-201(1)(c).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S201.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-201 supports voiding any covenant that exceeds one year, which an extension-on-breach clause risks triggering.",
            "verbatimQuote": "A non-compete agreement that violates this Subsection (1) is void.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-toll-void"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "slug": "alternatives",
        "label": "What can Utah employers use instead of a non-compete?",
        "heading": "What can Utah employers use instead of a non-compete?",
        "answerText": "Utah employers can lean on nonsolicitation and nondisclosure agreements, which sit outside the statutory non-compete definition, and on the Utah Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which protects genuinely secret, valuable information independent of any covenant.",
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "alt-carveout",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 34-51-102",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 34-51-102(8)(b).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title34/Chapter51/34-51-S102.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 34-51-102 supports that nonsolicitation, nondisclosure, and confidentiality agreements are outside the statutory non-compete definition.",
            "verbatimQuote": "“Non-compete agreement” does not include: (i) a nonsolicitation agreement; (ii) a nondisclosure agreement; or (iii) a confidentiality agreement.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-alt-carveout"
          },
          {
            "id": "alt-trade-secret-def",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 13-24-2",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 13-24-2(4).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title13/Chapter24/13-24-S2.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 13-24-2 supports the trade-secret definition requiring independent economic value from secrecy and reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy.",
            "verbatimQuote": "derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (b) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-alt-trade-secret-def"
          },
          {
            "id": "alt-injunction",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 13-24-3",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 13-24-3(1).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title13/Chapter24/13-24-S3.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 13-24-3 supports enjoining actual or threatened trade-secret misappropriation.",
            "verbatimQuote": "Actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined.",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-alt-injunction"
          },
          {
            "id": "alt-exemplary",
            "authorityType": "primary-law",
            "tier": "primary-source-backed",
            "title": "Utah Code § 13-24-4",
            "citation": "Utah Code Ann. § 13-24-4(2).",
            "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title13/Chapter24/13-24-S4.html",
            "proposition": "Utah Code § 13-24-4 supports exemplary damages up to twice the compensatory award for willful and malicious trade-secret misappropriation.",
            "verbatimQuote": "If willful and malicious misappropriation exists, the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding twice any award made under Subsection (1)",
            "anchor": "https://openagreements.org/practice-guides/non-compete/us/utah#src-alt-exemplary"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}