Washington, D.C.’s new noncompete law is about to take effect.
We had been waiting on Congress to review the bill. That could have taken until November 10. But it did not. Congress approved the bill on September 21.
Accordingly, per the language of the statute, it will apply as of October 1, 2022.
Here is the executive summary of the final law:
The law will prohibit noncompetes for anyone other than physicians earning $250,000 or more, anyone else earning $150,000 or more, casual babysitters (you read that right), partners in a partnership, and government workers.
- Who’s covered: employees who primarily work in D.C. and earn under $150,000 (and physicians earning under $250,000). (The wage threshold holds increase each year — on January 1 — with the Consumer Price Index.) Broadcast employees are also exempt, regardless of how much they earn.
- What’s prohibited: noncompetes for employees under the wage threshold (and for broadcast employees) and retaliation against employees who object to or complain about noncompetes, or who discuss the law.
- What’s not prohibited: nondisclosure agreements, noncompetes in connection with the sale of a business, and (maybe) other restrictive covenants.
- What’s required: providing a copy of any workplace policies that include permitted restrictive covenants and a prescribed notice to persons receiving a noncompete. (The statute contemplates regulations that may require record-keeping to prove compliance.)
- The consequences of violation the law: potentially hefty fines.
For more details about the substance of the law, see A second paradigm shift in D.C.’s noncompete law — no longer a ban, now a wage threshold and Broadcasters will remain exempt from noncompetes in D.C.
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If you are looking for a quick summary of the noncompete laws in all 50 states, our 50-state noncompete chart (created in 2010 and updated regularly since to keep track of the ever-changing noncompete laws) is always available here.
*A huge thank you to Erika Hahn for all of her extraordinary help in monitoring all of the bills filed around then country! Photo credit: David Mark.