When you leave a job for a new one, you’re looking forward, not backward. Except that your old employer has other plans. They are holding you to a non-compete agreement you don’t even remember signing when you were hired. The employer is saying you're bound to the agreement, but you’re questioning, “are non-compete agreements enforceable in Oklahoma?” Significantly, Oklahoma law actually voids pure non-competes entirely and has laws that specifically detail what is allowed.

Key Takeaways

• Oklahoma law entitles employees to work in the same or similar business as their former employer, rendering pure non-competes void and unenforceable.
• Employers can restrict former employees with a narrow non-solicitation of customers restriction.
• Employers can stop former employees from recruiting other employees or independent contractors.
• A different reasonableness standard is used for partnership dissolutions and business sales.
• FTC's 2024 nationwide non-compete rule is not in effect. It’s not coming back unless there’s some new federal change.

Oklahoma Voids Pure Employee Non-Competes but Allows Customer Non-Solicitation

The state of Oklahoma has historically taken a strong position of protecting individual’s right to find gainful employment and support themselves. 15 O.S. § 217 has been interpreted to include a reasonableness standard to determine whether a non-compete was enforceable.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court used the reasonableness standard to rule on Cardiovascular Surgical Specialists, Corp. v. Mammana. It ruled against enforcing a non-compete that limited a surgeon’s future employment for two years and within 20 miles (the court found that 20 miles effectively meant he could not practice within 100 miles of Tulsa). These terms were deemed far broader than necessary to protect any legitimate business interest. Section 219A was enacted in 2001, which creates a brightline rule for employee non-competes, as well, but Section 217 still runs alongside 219A for other covenants. If this same case were heard by the court today, using the current laws, Section 219A would likely govern, and the non-compete would be ruled as void with no need for the reasonableness test.

A pure non-compete agreement is one that prevents the employee from working for any competitor or launching a rival business in the former employer’s industry. It’s a broad sweeping ban on working in a particular industry. These types of non-compete agreements are void and not enforceable in Oklahoma. Former employees can seek employment in the same industry when their current position ends. Sometimes employers try to get around this by limiting the geographic area that the non-compete applies to. This doesn’t work.

Being protected from finding work is separate from soliciting the former employer’s established customers. Under 15 O.S. § 219A a former employer can protect their own business interests by stopping their former employees from targeting and attempting to take established customers. This exception aims to balance business protections with employment rights.

A Separate Statute Allows Restricting Solicitation of Employees and Contractors

It’s one thing for an employee to leave their former employer for a new opportunity. It’s another for that same employee to turn around and start trying to solicit other employees to also leave the employer. In 2013, 15 O.S. § 219B was added to address this situation. Oklahoma's general restriction of non-competes doesn’t apply to soliciting the employer’s other employees or independent contractors. It’s not treated as a restraint of trade or as preventing someone’s ability to find gainful employment.

Employers often address these concerns through customer non-solicitation, employee and contractor non-solicitation, and separate confidentiality or trade secret protections rather than relying on a broad employee non-compete. That way, they reduce the risk of a pure non-compete agreement containing all of these terms as void and unenforceable.

Business Sales and Partnership Dissolutions Follow a Different, More Permissive Standard

Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Oklahoma for business partners? While employees are protected, business associates and owners may not enjoy the same level of protections. Under 15 O.S. § 218, a non-compete tied to the sale of a business's goodwill can be enforceable. The rationale is that a buyer is purchasing a business for its current and potential value. They don’t want that value immediately undercut by the former owner immediately setting up a new competing business.

A similar mindset is applied to partnership dissolutions under 15 O.S. § 219. Reasonable non-competes are enforceable among the partners in the dissolving partnership. The standard is slightly different for these non-competes than the business sale exception. Instead of applying a hard-line rule, the court looks at the agreement's scope, duration, and geography.

The FTC's Nationwide Non-Compete Ban Never Took Effect and Isn't Coming Back

In 2024, the FTC finalized 16 C.F.R. Part 910, a nationwide ban on the majority of employee non-competes. However, a Texas court vacated the final rules before they could take effect. The court held that the FTC didn’t have the authority to issue such a rule. The FTC responded by appealing the decision. But by 2025, it dropped its appeal efforts. The rule was set aside, unable to be enforced before it ever took effect. There is currently no federal statute or rule that bans non-competes or overrides individual state statutes.

For Oklahoma employees, it means that the state law, not federal law, governs whether their non-compete is enforceable.

Consult with an Experienced Oklahoma Business Attorney

The fact that you signed a non-compete agreement when you were hired doesn’t necessarily mean it’s enforceable when you leave. While it can look intimidating, Oklahoma protects your ability to find employment in the industry you are qualified in. Your former employer cannot prevent you simply because it competes with them.

If you are wondering whether non-compete agreements are enforceable in Oklahoma, it’s essential to consult with a skilled business attorney. Titus Hillis helps Oklahoma employers draft restrictive covenants, and helps employees and departing partners evaluate agreements they have already signed. Visit the firm’s Contract Law practice page or Contact us online or call 918-587-6800 to get help with the agreement in front of you.