White House Calls on States to Ban or Limit Non-Compete Agreements

Originally published by Leiza Dolghih.

On Tuesday, the White House issued a call to action to state policymakers to do the following:

1.  Ban non-compete clauses for categories of workers, such as workers under a certain wage threshold; workers in certain occupations that promote public health and safety; workers who are unlikely to possess trade secrets; or those who may suffer undue adverse impacts from non-competes, such as workers laid off or terminated without cause.

2.  Improve transparency and fairness of non-compete agreements by, for example, disallowing non-competes unless they are proposed before a job offer or significant promotion has been accepted (because an applicant who has accepted an offer and declined other positions may have less bargaining power); providing consideration over and above continued employment for workers who sign non-compete agreements; or 2 encouraging employers to better inform workers about the law in their state and the existence of non-competes in contracts and how they work.

3.  Incentivize employers to write enforceable contracts, and encourage the elimination of unenforceable provisions by, for example, promoting the use of the “red pencil doctrine,” which renders contracts with unenforceable provisions void in their entirety.

This “State Call to Action on Non-Compete Agreements” comes on the heels of the White House and Treasury reports issued earlier this year that highlighted the fact that non-compete agreements impact approximately 30 million – nearly one in five – US workers, including roughly one in six workers without a college degree. 

Some states have already passed legislation limiting the use of non-compete agreements. For example, Hawaii banned non-compete agreements for technology jobs last year; New Mexico passed a law prohibiting non-competes for health care workers; and Oregon and Utah have limited the duration of non-compete arrangements.  Other states, like Massachusetts, have tried to implement similar measures this year but were unable to do it (yet). 

Does this mean that non-compete agreements in Texas will soon go away? There is no indication of that happening in the near future, however, the 85th legislative session in Texas will begin on January 10, 2017, and we will monitor introduction of any bills that may curtail or ban non-compete agreements in light of the trend. 

Of course, since the above call of action comes from the current White House, the outcome of the national elections will probably affect whether this call will carry over to the new administration.  Given Trump’s affinity for non-compete agreements, should he be elected, the current White House policy regarding such agreements may experience a 180-degree turn.  

Stay tuned for further developments in Texas in 2017 . . .

Leiza litigates unfair competition, non-compete and trade secrets lawsuits on behalf of companies and employees, and has advised hundreds of clients regarding non-compete and trade secret issues. If you need assistance with a non-compete or a trade secret misappropriation situation, contact Leiza for a confidential consultation at LDolghih@GodwinLaw.com or (214) 939-4458.

Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.

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