Category Archives: Uncategorized

President Biden Takes First Step to Limit Non-Compete Agreements Nationally

President Biden promised during his campaign that if elected he would take federal action against non-competition agreements. On July 9, 2021, Biden issued a broad executive order aimed at making good on that promise. He asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a rule either banning or limiting non-competition agreements. Such a rule, he said, will promote competition and raise wages, by removing barriers to job mobility.

Non-competition agreements are widely used in private industry,… More

A New Era of MA Noncompete Law Begins on Oct. 1

As previously reported, the new Massachusetts law governing non-competition agreements takes effect on Monday, October 1.  A comprehensive summary of the law is here.  The most significant takeaways are the following:

  • The law applies to post-employment noncompetes entered into on or after October 1, 2018 by Massachusetts workers and residents.
  • The law does not apply to other kinds of restrictions, including non-solicitation agreements. …
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MA Legislature Passes Noncompete Reform Bill

After years of debate, the Massachusetts legislature late last night passed a comprehensive noncompete reform law.  If, as expected, Governor Baker signs the bill in the next 10 days, it will take effect on October 1, 2018 and apply to agreements executed after that date.  (It does not apply retroactively to existing agreements.)

As the summary below makes clear, the law represents a compromise between those who believe noncompetes should be abolished because they are fundamentally unfair to employees and bad for the Massachusetts economy,… More

MA Senate Passes Noncompete Reform Bill

Here is significant news on the MA noncompete reform front.  Yesterday, as the Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology was hearing testimony on the pros and cons of non-competition agreements, and the Governor’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development was signalling a willingness to compromise, the Senate somewhat surprisingly passed a recently introduced compromise bill, by a vote of 31 to 7.  This is a significant departure from the outright ban proposed by the Governor and advocated by various groups.  … More

MA Governor Pushes to Abolish Noncompetes

In case you missed the news splash over the past 48 hours, MA Governor Patrick this week announced that he is introducing legislation to abolish employee noncompete agreements except in very limited circumstances.  The proposed legislation would have Massachusetts join California as one of the very few states that generally prohibit these post-employment restrictions.   The proposed law is part of a larger bill — the Growth and Opportunity Act of 2014 —… More