Pay-threshold ban
Nevada Non-Compete Law (2026): Void for hourly workers
Nevada draws its dividing line by how a worker is paid rather than by how much. If the entire paycheck is hourly wages, ignoring tips, a noncompete cannot be applied at all; add commissions or bonuses and the worker falls back into the general regime. For everyone else the covenant must rest on real consideration, go no further than the employer's interest requires, and avoid undue hardship, with courts obligated to rewrite terms that overshoot instead of voiding the agreement.
The rule
How Nevada treats non-compete agreements
The customer provision is the underused half of the statute: even a salaried worker with a valid covenant may serve a former client who sought them out unprompted, and an employer that sues over it owes fees. Also worth remembering that Nevada courts must narrow an overbroad covenant, so a badly drafted clause here usually survives in trimmed form rather than collapsing.
If you are an employer
Audit your workforce by compensation structure before you send out covenants, because enforcing against a purely hourly employee triggers a mandatory award of that worker's legal fees.
If you are a worker
Check your pay stub first: if hourly wages and tips are all you receive, the covenant does not apply to you and the employer pays your attorney if it sues anyway.
| Classification | Statutory ban for hourly-paid workers; reasonableness plus mandatory reformation for everyone else |
|---|---|
| Pay threshold | No dollar figure. The line is the pay structure: anyone compensated solely by the hour, tips and gratuities disregarded, cannot be bound at all. |
| Maximum term | The statute sets no outer limit; duration is judged for reasonableness, and a court must shorten a term it finds excessive rather than discard the covenant. |
| Notice or consideration | No advance-disclosure rule. NRS 613.195(1) instead demands valuable consideration and requires the restrictions to be proportionate to what the worker received. |
| Primary statute | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 613.195 |
Detail
What has changed, and what is still moving
Legislation 2024–2026
The controlling amendment remains AB 47, signed in 2021 and effective October 1, 2021. It inserted the hourly-worker prohibition, the unsolicited-customer protection, and mandatory fee awards, and extended judicial revision to employee-filed challenges. Nothing further amended NRS 613.195 in 2024, 2025 or 2026.
Bills to watch
No significant restrictive bills pending. Nevada's Legislature meets in odd-numbered years and produced no noncompete amendment in 2025.
Leading cases
Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. v. Islam, 132 Nev. 476 (2016), refused to blue-pencil an overbroad covenant and voided it; the Legislature answered with AB 276 in 2017, which codified NRS 613.195 and restored reformation. The 2021 amendments then layered the hourly-worker and customer protections on top.
If you have one in hand
What can make a non-compete unenforceable in Nevada
- You earn below the threshold. No dollar figure. The line is the pay structure: anyone compensated solely by the hour, tips and gratuities disregarded, cannot be bound at all.
- 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 Nevada.
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
Nevada non-compete questions
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Nevada?
Nevada draws its dividing line by how a worker is paid rather than by how much. If the entire paycheck is hourly wages, ignoring tips, a noncompete cannot be applied at all; add commissions or bonuses and the worker falls back into the general regime. For everyone else the covenant must rest on real consideration, go no further than the employer's interest requires, and avoid undue hardship, with courts obligated to rewrite terms that overshoot instead of voiding the agreement.
How long can a non-compete last in Nevada?
The statute sets no outer limit; duration is judged for reasonableness, and a court must shorten a term it finds excessive rather than discard the covenant.
Which workers in Nevada cannot be bound at all?
No dollar figure. The line is the pay structure: anyone compensated solely by the hour, tips and gratuities disregarded, cannot be bound at all.
What notice or consideration does Nevada require?
No advance-disclosure rule. NRS 613.195(1) instead demands valuable consideration and requires the restrictions to be proportionate to what the worker received.
Sources
How this entry was checked
- Primary source. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 613.195 — the statutory text itself.
- Secondary sources consulted. NRS 613.195, Nevada Legislature, Jackson Lewis, Ogletree, Justia Nevada Code.
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.