Reasonableness test
Idaho Non-Compete Law (2026): Key employees, 18 months
Idaho put its noncompete rules in a statute, and that statute does two things at once: it tells employers which restrictions are presumptively fine, and it draws lines they cannot cross without paying for the privilege. Only key employees and key independent contractors can be restricted, and eighteen months is the ceiling absent consideration beyond the job itself. Since 2018 the employer, not the departing worker, has carried the burden of proving irreparable harm when it asks for an injunction.
The rule
How Idaho treats non-compete agreements
The 2016-to-2018 whiplash is the part most summaries skip: Idaho briefly presumed irreparable harm against key employees, drew national criticism as the harshest noncompete regime in the country, and then repealed the presumption two years later. Healthcare adds a further wrinkle - Idaho courts treat a naked interest in keeping patients from following their physician as illegitimate.
If you are an employer
Restrict only the workers who genuinely hold inside knowledge or influence, keep the term at eighteen months or less, and match the territory to where the person actually worked - each of those choices buys you a statutory presumption.
If you are a worker
If you were not among the employer's most senior or highest-paid people, or if the restriction runs longer than eighteen months without you having received anything extra for it, you have a solid statutory argument.
| Classification | Statutory key-employee framework with an 18-month ceiling |
|---|---|
| Pay threshold | No dollar floor, but pay matters indirectly: Idaho Code s. 44-2704(5) presumes that anyone in the employer's highest-paid five percent qualifies as a 'key employee' or 'key independent contractor,' and only those workers can be bound at all. A worker outside that group can be shown to be key, and a worker inside it can rebut the label by proving no capacity to harm the employer's legitimate interests. |
| Maximum term | Eighteen months from termination is the statutory outer limit unless the employer gives consideration over and above employment or continued employment (Idaho Code s. 44-2704(1)). A term of 18 months or less is presumed reasonable. |
| Notice or consideration | No review period and no attorney advisory. Consideration only becomes an express statutory issue when the employer wants to push the restriction past 18 months. |
| Primary statute | Idaho Code ss. 44-2701 to 44-2704 |
Detail
What has changed, and what is still moving
Legislation 2024–2026
Nothing in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The framework in Title 44, Chapter 27 dates to 2008; the last substantive change was H.B. 487 in 2018, which stripped out the employer-favorable presumption of irreparable harm that had been added two years earlier.
Bills to watch
No significant restrictive bills pending.
Leading cases
Blaskiewicz v. Spine Institute of Idaho, P.A., 170 Idaho 262 (2022) - the pre-statute reasoning of Intermountain Eye survives inside the Chapter 27 framework, and a covenant reaching beyond the practice the physician actually performed is not protecting a legitimate interest. Intermountain Eye & Laser Centers, PLLC v. Miller, 142 Idaho 218 (2005) - patient choice is weighed against employer interests. Freiburger v. J-U-B Engineers, Inc., 141 Idaho 415 (2005) - core reasonableness and partial-enforcement analysis.
If you have one in hand
What can make a non-compete unenforceable in Idaho
- The scope is wider than the interest behind it. A restriction that reaches beyond the customers, trade secrets or goodwill the employer can actually point to is the most common reason a covenant fails in Idaho.
Whether any of these applies turns on the wording of your own agreement, your role and the case law your court follows. This page maps the statutory landscape; it does not replace advice on a specific contract.
FAQ
Idaho non-compete questions
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Idaho?
Idaho put its noncompete rules in a statute, and that statute does two things at once: it tells employers which restrictions are presumptively fine, and it draws lines they cannot cross without paying for the privilege. Only key employees and key independent contractors can be restricted, and eighteen months is the ceiling absent consideration beyond the job itself. Since 2018 the employer, not the departing worker, has carried the burden of proving irreparable harm when it asks for an injunction.
How long can a non-compete last in Idaho?
Eighteen months from termination is the statutory outer limit unless the employer gives consideration over and above employment or continued employment (Idaho Code s. 44-2704(1)). A term of 18 months or less is presumed reasonable.
Is there a minimum salary for non-competes in Idaho?
No. Idaho sets no income floor, so pay alone does not decide whether a covenant binds you. The test is whether the restriction goes further than the employer's legitimate interest requires in time, geography and scope of work.
What notice or consideration does Idaho require?
No review period and no attorney advisory. Consideration only becomes an express statutory issue when the employer wants to push the restriction past 18 months.
Sources
How this entry was checked
- Primary source. Idaho Code ss. 44-2701 to 44-2704 — the statutory text itself.
- Secondary sources consulted. Idaho Code tit. 44, ch. 27, Idaho Legislature statute pages, Parsons Behle & Latimer, National Law Review (2018 amendment), Epstein Becker Green.
Check it against a third party
None of these is ours. If a figure here matters to a decision, verify it:
- Federal Trade Commission — non-compete hub
- Economic Innovation Group — State Noncompete Law Tracker
- Fair Competition Law (Beck Reed Riden) — 50-state legislation tracker
- GAO-23-103785 — Noncompete Agreements (May 2023)
This page is general legal information published by Jurizmo and is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and may not reflect amendments enacted after the review date above. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state before acting on any agreement.