We get the following question, search query, google question all the time:
WHAT DOES THE VIRGINIA CODE SAY ABOUT NON-COMPETES.
I could lie and say that in section 8.01-5329046 the Virginia Code says:
“Non-compete agreements are to be disfavored in Virginia… unless of course the employee was a jerk and took some stuff she shouldn’t have and then the Court shall make sure to embarrass said employee…”
BUT, all of that is Fiction, literally.
There is no Virginia Code on Non-competes in Virginia. Non-competes are ruled by common law, or case law, or simply, what Judges say.
So when you call our office, I don’t get to just pick up the Statute and compare your contract to the Statute. I have literally hundreds of cases that we have to read, re-read and understand in order to explain or evaluate your contract.
Now, there is a Code dealing with Trade Secrets, and one on Defamation, and another on Conspiracy and often times we see these claims tied into a non-compete claim. If you are looking however for the code section dealing with non-competes, you will be looking for a long long time – no such thing exists.