Update Applicable to:	Effective Date
All Non-exempt Kansas Employers	July 1, 2025

What happened?

On April 8, 2025, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed SB 241 into law, clarifying the enforceability of non-solicitation agreements and requiring courts to revise overly broad covenants. Non-compete agreements remain governed by existing case law.

Overview:

• Establishes a presumption of enforceability for certain written non-solicitation agreements between businesses, employees, and owners. It also mandates judicial reformation of overbroad covenants and provides clear definitions to reduce legal uncertainty.

Enforceable Non-Solicitation Covenants

• Employee Non-Solicitation: Enforceable if in writing and either:

• Protects confidential information, trade secrets, customer/supplier relationships, goodwill, or loyalty, or
  • Is limited to 2 years post-employment.

• Customer Non-Solicitation: Enforceable if in writing, limited to material contact customers (as defined in the law), and does not exceed 2 years post-employment.

• “Material contact customers” include any customer or prospect the employee interacted with or had confidential information about.

• Owner Non-Solicitation of Employees: Enforceable if in writing and limited to 4 years post-ownership.

• Owner Non-Solicitation of Customers: Enforceable if in writing, limited to material contact customers, and does not exceed 4 years post-ownership.

• Owner Notice Provisions: Provisions requiring owners to give advance notice before selling or exiting the business are presumed enforceable.

Judicial Reformation: If a covenant is not presumed enforceable and is found to be overbroad or unnecessary, courts must:

• Modify the covenant,
• Enforce it as modified, and
• Grant only the relief reasonably necessary to protect the business interest.

Non-Compete Agreements: SB 241 does not apply to non-compete clauses. These remain enforceable under Kansas case law if they are:

• Reasonable under the circumstances, and
• Not harmful to public welfare.

Legal Flexibility: Even with the presumption of enforceability, employees and owners may still raise legal or equitable defenses in court.

Source References

• Kansas Senate Bill 241 – Amends the Kansas Restraint of Trade Act (K.S.A. 50-163) 

This communication is intended solely for the purpose of conveying information. The present post might incorporate hyperlinks directing readers to websites managed by third-party entities. The inclusion of any links within this communication is meant to serve as points of reference and could encompass opinion articles from various law firms, articles from HR associations, official websites, news releases, and documents of government agencies, and other relevant third-party sources. Vensure has no authority over these external websites and bears no responsibility for their content. Furthermore, Vensure does not endorse the materials present on these websites. The contents of this communication should not be interpreted as legal advice or as a legal standpoint concerning specific facts or scenarios. Nor should it be deemed an exhaustive compilation of facts potentially pertinent to federal, state, or local laws. It is strongly advised that employers solicit legal guidance from an employment attorney when undertaking actions in response to any legal updates provided. This is due to the possibility of future alterations occurring in federal, state, and local laws, regulations, as well as the directives and guidelines issued by governing agencies. These changes may transpire at any given time, potentially rendering certain portions of the content within this update void or inaccurate.