State Legislators to Renew Effort to Enact a Noncompetition Law

Though they’ve failed in several tries to reach a compromise on legislation to regulate the use of noncompetition agreements, the Massachusetts legislature is poised to try again. This time, House Speaker  Robert DeLeo seems willing to lead an effort that will include several specific components.

Mr. DeLeo said as much on March 2, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, when speaking with local business people. He reportedly highlighted three major components that might be part of 2016 noncompetition legislation:

1. A limit on restrictive covenants to a maximum of 12 months after employment ends;
2. A requirement that employees get advance notice of noncompetition agreement requirements before they accept a new job; and
3. A restriction against using non-competes for workers in low wage jobs.

Time will tell whether these ideas or others can become reality in Massachusetts. The notion of noncompetition legislation has been around for some time but has never gained traction in the legislature. Prior to his departure as governor, Deval Patrick made several pushes to enact a bill with varying terms. Because no law on the topic exists, judges are left to decide on a case-by-case basis when restrictions on work are enforceable and to what extent they are valid. That approach commonly leads to expensive litigation as employers fight with their former employees about what they can and cannot do at their new jobs and, sometimes, whether they can work at them at all.