Yes, as long as the non-compete includes is it ancillary to an employment agreement to the extent that:^[1]

• The employer has a “protectable business interest”; and
• It is limited to “time and scope in a manner that is not greater than necessary to protect the business.”

A protectable business interest includes the employer’s:^[2]

• Trade secrets;
• Intellectual property;
• Customer lists;
• Goodwill with customers;
• Knowledge of his or her business practices;
• Methods;
• Profit margins;
• Costs;
• Other confidential business information that is confidential, proprietary, and increases in value from not being known by a competitor;
• Training and education of the employer’s employees; and
• Other valuable employer data that the employer has provided to an employee that an employer would reasonably seek to protect or safeguard from a competitor in the interest of fairness.

Two (2) years is presumed to be a maximum reasonable time period after employment termination unless, “the facts and circumstances of a particular case clearly demonstrate that two (2) years is unreasonable compared to the employer’s protectable business interest.”^[4]In addition to the duration, a geographical area is recommended to be specified but is not required.^[5]

Arkansas law does allow a court to reform an otherwise unreasonable to the extent necessary to:^[6]

• Cause the limitations contained in the covenant not to compete agreement to be reasonable; and
• Impose a restraint that is not greater than necessary to protect the protectable business interest.

Although, the courts have stated that if the non-compete is too far-reaching that:^[7]

“our rule is that when a restriction such as this one is too far-reaching to be valid, the court will not make a new contract for the parties by reducing the restriction to a shorter time or to a smaller area.”