By last count (it’s changing fast!), there have been 64 noncompete bills in 25 states so far this year1 — excluding the two pending federal noncompete bills, D.C.’s new law to ban most noncompetes, and any proposed bills that are circulating, but have not yet been filed.
Five bills in five states have died2 — leaving the current tally at 59 noncompete bills still pending in 21 states.
The 21 states are Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia.
In this series, we are providing details on all pending bills (and any new ones that are filed) — and we will be simultaneously updating our Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws page. Note that the summaries are (sort-of) color coded for the nature of the bill (ban, modification or establishment of standards, reversal of prior changes) and the groups for whom it creates exceptions or specific limitations (medical, low-wage workers, others).
Up today: Massachusetts
Massachusetts has the following four pending bills, all introduced on March 29, 2021, and all repeats of last session’s bills:
- S.1209 (An Act relative to banning noncompetition agreements in the Commonwealth): The bill — a repeat of bills that have been introduced and rejected in Massachusetts since 2009 (albeit with different language) — would ban all employee noncompetes in Massachusetts.
The bill is pending before the Joint Labor and Workforce Development Committee.
- H.2051 (An Act relative to physician assistant non-competes): The bill, which tracks the language used for (other existing) legislative exemptions for physicians (G.L. c. 112, § 12X); nurses (G.L. c. 112, § 74D), psychologists (G.L. c. 112, § 129B), and social workers (G.L. c. 112, § 135C), would ban the use of noncompetes for physician assistants. Specifically, the bill would create G.L. c. 112, § 9L, as follows:
“Section 9L. Any contract or agreement which creates or establishes the terms of a partnership, employment, or any other form of professional relationship with a physician assistant registered to practice as a physician assistant pursuant to section 9E which includes any restriction of the right of such physician assistant to practice as a physician assistant in any geographical area for any period of time after the termination of such partnership, employment or professional relationship shall be void and unenforceable with respect to said restriction. Nothing in this section shall render void or unenforceable any other provision of any such contract or agreement.”
The bill is pending before the Joint Labor and Workforce Development Committee.
- S.1211 (An Act relative to physician assistant non-competes): The bill is the Senate analogue to H.2051 above, and would ban the use of noncompetes for physician assistants.
The bill is pending before the Joint Labor and Workforce Development Committee.
- S.1250 (An Act relative to clarifying legislative intent regarding the non-competition law): The bill would expressly permit the parties to a noncompete to define the term “terminated without cause” (which is undefined in the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act). Speficially, the bill would add, “as defined by the parties in the noncompete agreement,” after the words “terminated without cause.”
The bill is pending before the Joint Labor and Workforce Development Committee.
Next up: Missouri.
And, remember, if you want to see a summary of the current noncompete law in any state (and D.C.), please refer to our 50-state noncompete chart, which is updated on a continual basis, as the laws change.
*A huge thank you to Erika Hahn for all of her extraordinary help in tracking and monitoring all of the bills.
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[1] The 25 states are: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
[2] The five states are: Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Virginia, and Utah.
The Nevada bill that died (AB.291) was introduced on March 17, 2021, and would have amended the current version of NRS 613.195 (Nevada’s noncompete statute) to bring independent contractors within the scope of the statute.