Florida CHOICE Act in 2026: Noncompetes, Garden Leave, and the Rules for Covered Employees
Florida now has a specialized statutory regime for certain restrictive covenants involving high-earning workers. The Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth Act—commonly called the CHOICE Act—appears in sections 542.41 through 542.45, Florida Statutes.
The Act does not replace Florida's general restrictive-covenant statute. Instead, it creates a separate framework for qualifying covered garden-leave agreements and covered noncompete agreements. Restrictive covenants outside that framework remain subject to section 542.335 and other applicable law.
Who Is a Covered Employee?
The CHOICE Act applies only to a defined class of workers. A covered employee can be an employee or an individual contractor whose salary exceeds the statutory threshold tied to two times the annual mean wage of the applicable Florida county. The definition excludes a health care practitioner as defined in section 456.001.
Because the threshold is wage-based and location-dependent, employers should confirm coverage before assuming a new agreement qualifies for the Act's specialized enforcement provisions.
Covered Garden Leave
A covered garden-leave agreement can provide an advance-notice period of up to four years. During that period, the employer generally continues the worker's salary and benefits, while the worker remains bound by the agreement's restrictions. Discretionary incentive compensation is treated differently from salary under the statute.
The statute also contemplates that, after the first 90 days of the notice period, the employee may no longer be required to provide services. Outside employment may be permitted with the employer's approval, and the employer can shorten the notice period through the notice mechanism provided by the statute.
Covered Noncompetes
The CHOICE Act also authorizes covered noncompete agreements of up to four years. A qualifying agreement may restrict a covered employee from providing similar services in a defined geographic area or from working where the employee would likely use the former employer's confidential information or customer relationships.
The statutory formalities matter. Among other requirements, the worker must receive the proposed agreement at least seven days before the offer expires and must be advised in writing of the right to seek counsel. The agreement also includes required acknowledgments concerning confidential information or customer relationships.
Enforcement Is a Material Change
The CHOICE Act includes strong enforcement language. When the statutory prerequisites are satisfied, it provides a framework favoring preliminary injunctive relief and includes prevailing-party attorney's-fee provisions. That creates material litigation leverage and makes drafting errors especially important.
Employers should not assume that labeling an agreement a CHOICE Act agreement makes it enforceable. Compensation level, required notices, agreement language, geographic restrictions, confidential-information interests, and the worker's status all require careful analysis.
Practical Takeaway
Florida businesses using noncompetes should now determine which agreements belong under the CHOICE Act and which remain governed by the traditional restrictive-covenant statute. Employees presented with a covered agreement should evaluate not only its duration, but also compensation during any garden-leave period, geographic reach, post-employment opportunities, and the statute's enforcement consequences.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Legal outcomes depend on the specific facts and applicable law.
Comments