Continuing Obligations Letter
(Post-employment Restrictions) (Employer to Former Employee)

This template is a continuing obligations letter that is used to remind a former employee about their post-employment restrictions and the consequences of violating these agreements. Such a letter may serve as evidence in litigation if the former employee breaches their post-employment restrictions. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and optional clauses. IMPORTANT NOTE: On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued its final rule prohibiting new non-compete agreements with all workers. The rule provides that existing non-compete agreements with senior executives remain in force, and existing non-competes with all other workers are not enforceable. The final rule was set to become effective on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas set aside the FTC rule, preventing the rule from taking effect. See Ryan LLC v. FTC, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148488 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 20, 2024). While the FTC appealed the Ryan decision to the Fifth Circuit, as of March 15, 2025, the appeal had been stayed 120-days at the request of the FTC. A similar appeal is also pending in the Eleventh Circuit following Props. of the Villages, Inc. v. Fed. Trade Comm'n, No. 5:24-CV-316-TJC-PRL, (M.D. Fla. Aug. 15, 2024), which has similarly been stayed as of March 20, 2025. Upon the commencement of the second Trump term, however, it is unclear whether the federal government will continue to pursue the defense of the FTC's non-compete rule or ultimately rescind it. Therefore, practitioners in this area should continue to keep abreast of the status of the FTC Rule following the lifting of the stays. For a full listing of key content covering restrictive covenant considerations, see Restrictive Covenants Resource Kit. For resources on employment litigation, see Employment Litigation Resource Kit. For a continuing obligations letter to a new employer, see Continuing Obligations Letter (Post-employment Restrictions) (Former Employer to New Employer).