Skip to content
Oakclause

Non-Compete Laws in Nebraska

Nebraska courts enforce an employee non-compete only if it is limited to the former employer's customers with whom the employee actually did business and had personal contact, and they will not rewrite an overbroad one.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Nebraska at a glance

Status
Restricted by case law: customer-based only
Courts will not reform an unreasonable covenant; it is enforced as written or not at all.
Enforceable against employees
Only if limited to the employee's customers

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Nebraska

Are employee non-compete agreements banned, restricted or enforceable in Nebraska?

Status in Nebraska: Restricted by case law: customer-based only. Courts will not reform an unreasonable covenant; it is enforced as written or not at all.

Can an employer enforce a non-compete against an employee in Nebraska?

Only if limited to the employee's customers. Enforceable against employees in Nebraska: only if limited to the employee's customers.

Where do the Nebraska non-compete laws come from?

The rules above come from H & R Block Tax Services, Inc. v. Circle A Enterprises, Inc., 269 Neb. 411 (2005) and Polly v. Ray D. Hilderman & Co., 225 Neb. 662 (1987). Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

What this means in practice

Read the restriction closely before signing. Note how long it lasts, the area it covers, which activities it bars and which state's law the contract says applies. A choice-of-law clause does not always control, because some states refuse to apply another state's law to their own residents or workers.

Salary thresholds are often adjusted every year for inflation. If a state uses a threshold, check the figure for the year the agreement was signed or is being enforced, and how the statute defines earnings.

A non-compete is different from a non-solicitation or confidentiality agreement. Many states that limit non-competes still allow narrower clauses that protect trade secrets or customer lists. An employment lawyer can explain how the rules apply to a specific agreement.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.