Iconic fish toss at Pike Place Market.Correction (same day): The final bill sent to the governor addressed and corrected the effective and notice dates; both have been updated below, and the link has been updated to the final, official bill.
Well, I had hoped to have finished my update on the 100 bills pending around the country, but this news was too big to wait on: Washington state has a new law, effective June 30, 2027, that will prohibit all employee noncompetes, bringing Washington noncompete law in line with California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
Note that Washington’s new law builds on the state’s approach of treating certain broadly written nonsolicitation agreements and non-acceptance-of-business/no-service agreements as noncompetes within the scope of the ban.
Employers will also be required to notify their employees (and former employees and others) that their existing agreements are void and unenforceable by October 1, 2027.
I will provide a deeper analysis soon, but wanted to get this out ASAP.
*Thank you Mike Rosen for catching the effective date in the bill delivered to the governor.