Pay-threshold ban
Illinois Non-Compete Law (2026): Void below $75K
Illinois runs the most demanding noncompete regime in this group. Pay determines whether a covenant is available at all - $75,000 for a noncompete and $45,000 for a non-solicit through the end of 2026 - and procedure determines whether it survives, since skipping the fourteen-day review period or the written attorney advisory renders the agreement illegal and void. The Attorney General can pursue employers who make a pattern of it, with civil penalties of $5,000 per violation and $10,000 for repeat violations inside five years.
The rule
How Illinois treats non-compete agreements
The thresholds are pegged to fixed statutory dates, not to inflation, so nothing moves in 2026 no matter what wages do - a point routinely garbled in published trackers. Also easy to miss: the Act separately bars covenants for workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and for construction workers outside management and design roles.
If you are an employer
Treat the wage check, the fourteen-day window, the written advisory and the consideration analysis as four separate boxes that all have to be ticked, because failing any one of them voids the covenant outright rather than merely weakening it.
If you are a worker
If your annualized pay was $75,000 or less when you signed, the noncompete is void by statute; if it was higher, the employer still had to give you two full weeks and tell you in writing to see a lawyer, and prevailing employees can recover attorney's fees.
| Classification | Wage-threshold prohibition with mandatory process |
|---|---|
| Pay threshold | For all of 2026 the operative numbers are still $75,000 in annualized earnings for a noncompete and $45,000 for a customer or co-worker non-solicit. Those figures step up to $80,000 and $47,500 on January 1, 2027, to $85,000 and $50,000 on January 1, 2032, and to $90,000 and $52,500 on January 1, 2037. Anyone paid at or below the applicable line cannot lawfully be bound. |
| Maximum term | No number in the statute. Duration is tested for reasonableness under case law, where roughly one to two years is the customary range for a legitimate interest. |
| Notice or consideration | Yes, and the requirements are conditions of validity rather than best practices. The employer must hand over the agreement with at least fourteen calendar days to review it and must advise the worker in writing to consult an attorney. Separately, the covenant needs adequate consideration - either two years of continued employment after signing or some other sufficient professional or financial benefit. |
| Primary statute | 820 ILCS 90/1 et seq. (Illinois Freedom to Work Act) |
Detail
What has changed, and what is still moving
Legislation 2024–2026
The Freedom to Work Act's current architecture dates to the amendments effective January 1, 2022, which introduced the wage thresholds, the fourteen-day review window, the attorney advisory and the indexing schedule. Public Act 103-915, effective January 1, 2025, added a targeted protection: a restrictive covenant is unenforceable against a mental or behavioral health provider if enforcing it would make care more expensive or harder to obtain for a veteran or a first responder. Nothing further was enacted in 2026.
Bills to watch
No significant restrictive bills pending. HB 1642 and HB 3213 both stalled in Rules and died with the sine die adjournment of the 104th General Assembly on June 1, 2026; a successor measure, HB 5385, has been filed but has not advanced.
Leading cases
Reliable Fire Equipment Co. v. Arredondo, 2011 IL 111871 - legitimate business interest is judged on the totality of the circumstances rather than a rigid checklist. Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services, 2013 IL App (1st) 120327 - the two-year continued-employment benchmark for consideration, now largely absorbed into the statute.
If you have one in hand
What can make a non-compete unenforceable in Illinois
- You earn below the threshold. For all of 2026 the operative numbers are still $75,000 in annualized earnings for a noncompete and $45,000 for a customer or co-worker non-solicit. Those figures step up to $80,000 and $47,500 on January 1, 2027, to $85,000 and $50,000 on…
- The employer skipped a required step. Yes, and the requirements are conditions of validity rather than best practices. The employer must hand over the agreement with at least fourteen calendar days to review it and must advise the worker in writing to consult an attorney…
- 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 Illinois.
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
Illinois non-compete questions
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Illinois?
Illinois runs the most demanding noncompete regime in this group. Pay determines whether a covenant is available at all - $75,000 for a noncompete and $45,000 for a non-solicit through the end of 2026 - and procedure determines whether it survives, since skipping the fourteen-day review period or the written attorney advisory renders the agreement illegal and void. The Attorney General can pursue employers who make a pattern of it, with civil penalties of $5,000 per violation and $10,000 for repeat violations inside five years.
How long can a non-compete last in Illinois?
No number in the statute. Duration is tested for reasonableness under case law, where roughly one to two years is the customary range for a legitimate interest.
Is there a minimum salary for non-competes in Illinois?
For all of 2026 the operative numbers are still $75,000 in annualized earnings for a noncompete and $45,000 for a customer or co-worker non-solicit. Those figures step up to $80,000 and $47,500 on January 1, 2027, to $85,000 and $50,000 on January 1, 2032, and to $90,000 and $52,500 on January 1, 2037. Anyone paid at or below the applicable line cannot lawfully be bound.
What notice or consideration does Illinois require?
Yes, and the requirements are conditions of validity rather than best practices. The employer must hand over the agreement with at least fourteen calendar days to review it and must advise the worker in writing to consult an attorney. Separately, the covenant needs adequate consideration - either two years of continued employment after signing or some other sufficient professional or financial benefit.
Sources
How this entry was checked
- Primary source. 820 ILCS 90/1 et seq. (Illinois Freedom to Work Act) — the statutory text itself.
- Secondary sources consulted. 820 ILCS 90, Illinois Public Act 103-915, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Epstein Becker Green, Katten, Illinois General Assembly bill records.
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.