The day an employee shows up for their first day of work is often the day they learn that a noncompete is a requirement of the job.
But, according to a 2015 study by Professors Evan Starr, J.J. Prescott, and Norm Bishara, providing advance notice that a noncompete will be required actually leads to 11% more training and 6.6% more job satisfaction.
Oregon was the first state to require such advance notice, and since then, six other states — Massachusetts (2018), New Hampshire (2019), Maine (2019), Washington (2020), Virginia (2020), and Illinois (2021) — and Washington, D.C. (2021) have all followed suit. But, the requirements vary wildly.
To help keep track, below is a (downloadable) state-by-state chart of the substantive notice requirements and their timing.
At least three other states (Michigan, New York, and New Jersey) are currently considering adding notice requirements to their noncompete laws.
We will continue to keep you posted if and as things develop.