We recognize the benefits to employers and disadvantages to employees of noncompete clauses in employment contracts. Estimates suggest that as much as 20% of the US workforce may be subject to noncompete requirements and that 50% of private sector employers use them to some extent. They serve various purposes from agreements not to compete to restrictions on the location of future employment. While state law differs and at least three states follow the common law which prohibited them altogether, New Jersey generally follows the majority rule that flows from the 1711 holding by the Queen's Bench in Mitchel v. Reynolds 24 Eng. Rep. 347; they are enforceable if reasonable in time and scope. Stated differently, the limitations in the agreement must be reasonable. And that may depend upon the contractual provisions and, for example, on the period of employment covered by the agreement and whether the employee worked for the employer for a short or lengthy period, for a fixed salary or as an owner of a business to be sold and the position held for the contracting employer.