Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP

Opinion

CHIN, J.

We granted review to address the validity of noncompetition agreements in California and the permissible scope of employment release agreements. We limited our review to the following issues: (1) To what extent does Business and Professions Code section 166001 prohibit employee noncompetition agreements; and (2) is a contract provision requiring an employee to release “any and all” claims unlawful because it encompasses *942nonwaivable statutory protections, such as the employee indemnity protection of Labor Code section 2802?

We conclude that section 16600 prohibits employee…