Long used in the U.K., garden leave is becoming increasingly popular with employers in the United States as an alternative to traditional noncompete agreements.Garden leave provisions take several forms, but the key feature is that the employee is paid to sit out before starting the new job. The payment of compensation lessens the impact on the employee, especially as compared to a noncompete where no payment is required and the employee may suffer a significant loss of earnings.Garden leaves are also generally shorter …