Yes, as long as the employer can answer “yes” to each question in the 5-point test:^[2]

1. Is there a need to restrict the activities of the employee for the protection of the plaintiff?
2. Is the duration too long?
3. Is the territory being restricted considered reasonable?
4. Are the restrictions against the employee unduly harsh or oppressive?
5. Is the non-compete injurious to the general public?

An attorney is prohibited from entering into an agreement that restricts their ability to practice law in the State.^[3]

Continued employment is not sufficient consideration to validate a non-compete agreement.^[4]

“Consideration in addition to continued employment [is] required to support a covenant not to compete entered into by an existing at-will employee.”

• Employment: 2 years and 1 county was deemed reasonable.^[2]
• Sale of Business: 7 years and a 120-mile radius was deemed reasonable.^[5]

If there is no territorial restriction, a non-compete will be determined unreasonable and unenforceable.^[6]

If an employer and employee agree to choose another state’s laws, it is dependent on those laws to be “reasonable” under Wisconsin.Therefore, if laws that are more advantageous to the employer are selected, there is a good chance it will not be considered “reasonable” by a Wisconsin court.^[7]

Yes, an employee can be legally fired in Wisconsin for not signing a non-compete after employment begins.^[8]

Wisconsin generally does not allow the amending or reforming of non-compete agreements if they are deemed unreasonable. The court has specifically stated that if any agreement provides “any unreasonable portion of the covenant not to compete voids the entire covenant even if the remaining portions would be enforceable.”^[9]