North Dakota Employment Contract Review
North Dakota has refused to enforce employee non-competes since well over a century, and N.D.C.C. 9-08-06 still voids most of them. What makes a North Dakota offer distinctive is how far courts carry that policy: the state Supreme Court has refused to let employers escape it by naming another state's law or courts in the contract, and customer non-solicitation clauses are generally treated the same way as non-competes.
Non-compete in North Dakota
Generally void, good news for employees
Are non-competes enforceable in North Dakota?
Here is North Dakota non-compete law in plain English, with the statute it rests on.
Employee non-competes are void by statute. Only narrow sale-of-business exceptions are allowed.
Governing law: North Dakota Century Code §9-08-06.
Whatever the label in your contract, North Dakota courts look at whether the restriction is reasonable in duration, geography, and scope. A nationwide, multi-year, whole-industry ban is far more likely to be narrowed or struck down than a narrow one.
Who owns what you invent in North Dakota?
North Dakota does not have a specific personal-invention carve-out statute, so a broad IP-assignment clause can reach more of what you create, potentially including side projects. Read the assignment scope and push to limit it to work actually related to your job.
Arbitration and class-action waivers in North Dakota
North Dakota generally follows the federal rule that arbitration agreements are enforceable. Before you sign, check whether the clause is mutual and whether it waives your right to a class or collective action, you are usually giving up the right to sue in court.
Can an employer get around North Dakota law with a choice-of-law clause?
Usually not. In Osborne v. Brown & Saenger, Inc., 2017 ND 288, a South Dakota employer hired a worker for its Fargo office under a contract choosing South Dakota law and courts. The North Dakota Supreme Court held the choice-of-law and forum provisions void as applied to the non-compete, because letting a contract pick another state would undo North Dakota's public policy.
North Dakota courts have also applied 9-08-06 to clauses that bar soliciting former customers, so a non-solicit is not a safe substitute for a non-compete here. The statute does permit narrow exceptions, chiefly for someone who sells a business's goodwill, which a 2019 amendment (HB 1351) extended to partners, members and shareholders in that sale.
When is your final North Dakota paycheck due?
N.D.C.C. 34-14-03 makes the unpaid wages of an employee who quits, is fired or is suspended in a labor dispute due on the regular payday the employer set in advance for that period. When the employer ends the job, it must send the wages by certified mail to an address you designate, unless the two of you agree on another method.
That makes North Dakota a next-regular-payday state with no faster deadline for a firing. Check that your contract does not try to delay final pay until equipment is returned or a release is signed.
North Dakota sources checked 2026-10-09: N.D. Cent. Code ch. 34-14, wage collection (34-14-03) · Barnes & Thornburg, North Dakota Supreme Court questions noncompete drafting strategy (Osborne) · North Dakota Legislature, HB 1351 (2019) overview. Laws change; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
What ClauseAudit checks in a North Dakota employment contract
- Non-compete enforceability under North Dakota law and whether the scope is reasonable
- IP / invention-assignment scope and any personal-time carve-out
- Mandatory arbitration and class-action waiver
- At-will terms and asymmetric notice or severance
- Equity vesting, cliffs, and bad-leaver forfeiture
- Discretionary bonus criteria and clawback provisions
North Dakota employment contract FAQ
Are non-competes enforceable in North Dakota?
In North Dakota, employee non-competes are generally void and unenforceable under North Dakota Century Code §9-08-06. Employee non-competes are void by statute. Only narrow sale-of-business exceptions are allowed.
Can my North Dakota employer own inventions I make on my own time?
North Dakota does not have a specific statute carving out personal-time inventions, so a broad IP-assignment clause can reach more of what you create. Read the assignment scope carefully and ask to limit it to work related to your job.
Do I have to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement in North Dakota?
North Dakota generally follows the federal rule that arbitration agreements are enforceable. Check whether the clause is mutual and whether it waives your right to a class action, and know that you are usually giving up the right to sue in court. Everywhere in the US, the federal Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets you take sexual harassment and sexual assault claims to court even if you signed one.
What makes a non-compete reasonable in North Dakota?
The question largely does not arise for employees, because North Dakota treats the restriction itself as void rather than asking whether its terms are reasonable. Confidentiality and trade-secret obligations are a separate matter and are not affected.
What if I work in North Dakota but my employer is in another state?
It matters, because North Dakota's neighbours do not all treat non-competes the same way: Montana (generally enforceable), South Dakota (generally enforceable). Which state's law applies turns on the governing-law and venue clauses in your contract and on where the work is actually performed, so those two clauses are worth reading closely before you sign.
Does it help that Minnesota voids non-competes?
Only if that state's law actually applies to you. Living next to Minnesota does not import its rule into a North Dakota contract. What governs is the contract's choice-of-law clause and where you perform the work, which is exactly why those clauses deserve attention.
Is there anything specific to North Dakota worth knowing?
Choice of law and forum outside North Dakota are unenforceable.
What else should I check in a North Dakota employment contract?
Beyond the non-compete: how invention assignment is worded and whether it reaches work done on your own time; whether disputes go to arbitration and whether class actions are waived; whether notice periods are symmetrical between you and the employer; and how any equity vests, including what happens if you leave before a cliff.
Is a confidentiality agreement still enforceable in North Dakota?
Yes. North Dakota's statute targets restraints on carrying on a lawful profession, trade or business. A properly drafted confidentiality or trade secret clause is a different thing and is generally enforceable, as is North Dakota's version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The risk lies in clauses labelled confidentiality that in practice stop you from working for a competitor at all.
My employer is in Minnesota but I work in North Dakota. Which law applies?
If you live and work in North Dakota, a North Dakota court is likely to apply 9-08-06 to a non-compete regardless of what the contract says about another state, following the Osborne decision. Minnesota also bans most non-competes signed since July 1, 2023, so in this pairing both states point the same way. A court elsewhere could still analyze the question differently.
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North Dakota: the governing law
- Statute
N.D. Cent. Code § 9-08-06- Worth knowing
- Choice of law and forum outside North Dakota are unenforceable.
Statute and reformation approach from Beck Reed Riden LLP, Employee Noncompetes: A State-by-State Survey, 2026-01-21. Verify against the current text before relying on it.
How North Dakota compares with neighbouring states
North Dakota does not treat non-competes the same way as every state it borders, which matters when a contract names another state's law. 2 of its 3 neighbours take a different approach.
Nationally: 4 jurisdictions treat employee non-competes as void, 13 allow them only in limited circumstances, and 34 generally enforce them if reasonable.
State law summarized as of 2026-10-09; statutes change frequently. This is Automated educational information, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified North Dakota attorney before signing.