Non-Competes in Oklahoma: Employer Guide

Your best salesperson just resigned. She's going to your biggest competitor. She knows your pricing, your customer relationships, your sales strategies. You pull out the employment agreement she signed—the one with the non-compete clause your last lawyer assured you was "reasonable." Then your current lawyer tells you it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

This happens constantly in Oklahoma. Employers rely on non-compete agreements that courts won't enforce, leaving them unprotected when the departure they worried about actually happens. The good news is there are tools that work—they're just different from what you might assume.

Why Oklahoma Is Different

Oklahoma has one of the strongest statutory prohibitions on non-compete agreements in the country. 15 O.S. § 219A says that any agreement restraining someone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business "shall be void."

That's not ambiguous. It's not "unenforceable if unreasonable." It's void.

The statute reflects Oklahoma's public policy favoring employee mobility and economic freedom. The principle is that people should be able to work where they want, and employers shouldn't be able to restrict competition by locking up their workforce.

Other states take different approaches. Some enforce "reasonable" non-competes limited by time, geography, and scope. Some have exceptions for specific industries or salary thresholds. A few states, most notably California and now Colorado (with limitations), have joined Oklahoma in broadly prohibiting non-competes. But Oklahoma was among the first to take this position, and its courts have decades of case law reinforcing the statute's blanket prohibition.

What Doesn't Work

Traditional non-compete language—"Employee agrees not to work for any competitor within 50 miles for 24 months after termination"—is unenforceable in Oklahoma. Courts won't rewrite it to make it reasonable; they'll void it entirely.

Industry restrictions don't save you. Restricting someone from working in "the staffing industry" or "oil and gas services" or "healthcare consulting" is still a restraint on practicing their profession and is equally void.

Geographic limitations don't save you. A 10-mile restriction is as void as a 500-mile restriction.

Time limitations don't save you. Six months is as void as five years.

None of the factors that make non-competes "reasonable" in other states matter here. The statute prohibits the category, not just the unreasonable versions. Oklahoma courts have been remarkably consistent on this point. Attempts to dress up non-competes as "garden leave" agreements, "transition period" restrictions, or "customer protection" provisions have all failed when the practical effect was to prevent someone from working in their field.

What Does Work

Oklahoma employers aren't without options. Several tools remain fully enforceable and often provide better protection than non-competes would anyway.

Non-solicitation of established customers is the most directly useful alternative. Section 219A explicitly permits agreements prohibiting former employees from "directly soliciting the sale of goods, services or a combination of goods and services from the established customers of the former employer."

This is narrower than a non-compete. The employee can work for your competitor. They can serve customers who come to them. But they can't pick up the phone and call your customers to take the business away.

To enforce this, you need a written agreement specifying the restriction. You need to be able to identify which customers count as "established customers" the employee had contact with. And you need to understand that passive acceptance of business from customers who initiate contact isn't covered. The distinction between active solicitation and passive acceptance is critical — if a customer follows your former employee to a new company on their own initiative, the non-solicitation agreement generally doesn't apply.

Confidentiality agreements protect your actual competitive information. Customer lists, pricing strategies, proprietary processes, business methods—these can be protected as trade secrets or confidential information, wholly apart from any employment restriction.

A well-drafted confidentiality agreement defines what's protected, imposes clear obligations on the employee during and after employment, and provides remedies for breach. Unlike a non-compete, it doesn't restrict where someone works; it restricts what they can use or disclose.

The Oklahoma Uniform Trade Secrets Act provides additional protection for qualified trade secrets, including injunctive relief and damages for misappropriation. If your information genuinely qualifies as a trade secret—if you've treated it as secret and it derives value from being secret—the law protects it whether or not you have an agreement. Understanding what qualifies as protectable proprietary information and how to safeguard it is essential for Oklahoma employers.

Structuring Effective Protection

The employers who protect themselves best focus on what the law allows rather than wishing it allowed something else. Working with experienced general counsel who understands Oklahoma's specific framework is the most efficient path to building enforceable protections.

Start with clear identification of what's actually confidential. Vague assertions that "everything is proprietary" aren't credible. Specific identification of customer lists, pricing matrices, strategic plans, and technical processes creates enforceable protection.

Draft agreements that employees can actually understand and that courts will enforce. The confidentiality agreement should be separate from general employment paperwork, specifically identify protected information, and impose reasonable obligations.

Include non-solicitation provisions tailored to your business. Who are your established customers? What counts as solicitation? What's the time period? The clearer you are, the more enforceable the restriction.

Protect information operationally, not just legally. Limit access to sensitive information. Use technical controls. Mark confidential documents. The best legal claims arise when you can show you actually treated the information as secret.

And conduct proper exit procedures. Remind departing employees of their obligations. Collect company property and information. Document the transition. The exit interview isn't just HR housekeeping; it's evidence if you later need to enforce your rights. Have the departing employee sign an acknowledgment confirming they've returned all company property and understand their ongoing confidentiality obligations — this creates a clear record that's invaluable if disputes arise later.

When Employees Leave

When the departure happens, move quickly but think carefully. Immediate injunction applications create pressure, but they also require you to prove your case on shortened timelines. Investigation first is usually wiser.

Determine what the employee had access to. Review what they might have taken or retained. Monitor for signs of customer solicitation. Build your evidence before you act. Forensic analysis of company-issued devices, email logs, and cloud storage access records can reveal whether departing employees downloaded or forwarded proprietary information before leaving.

If you have grounds for action, the remedies include injunctions to stop ongoing violations, damages for harm already caused, and potentially attorney's fees if your agreement provides for them. Trade secret claims can also support punitive damages in egregious cases.

And consider whether litigation is actually the best outcome. Sometimes a conversation or a letter resolves the situation. Sometimes the competitive threat is smaller than the cost of fighting it. Enforcement decisions should be strategic, not reflexive. Employees who are considering their own rights should also understand this dynamic: employers often back down when they understand the legal landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Oklahoma employers use non-compete agreements at all?

No. Oklahoma law prohibits agreements that restrain someone from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business. However, employers can use non-solicitation agreements and confidentiality/NDA agreements to protect their legitimate interests.

What's the difference between a non-compete and a non-solicitation agreement?

A non-compete prevents you from working in your field entirely. A non-solicitation agreement only prevents you from actively soliciting specific customers or employees of your former employer. Oklahoma generally enforces the latter but not the former.

Can I enforce a non-compete signed in another state?

Possibly, but Oklahoma courts may refuse to enforce it if the employee lives and works in Oklahoma. Oklahoma courts have historically been hostile to non-competes, even those governed by other states' laws, when the employee is an Oklahoma resident.

What should Oklahoma employers do instead of non-competes?

Focus on non-solicitation agreements, strong NDAs, and trade secret protections. These are enforceable in Oklahoma and protect what actually matters — your customer relationships and proprietary information — without restricting employee mobility.

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This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.