Unless and until there is binding federal law governing noncompetes in all 50 states, noncompete agreements will continue to be governed by state law. In recent years, state legislatures have been increasingly active in regulating noncompetes and imposing minimum requirements that must be met before a court even reaches the question of whether the specific restrictions in a noncompete are enforceable. These requirements serve as barriers to entry – if they are not met, the noncompete will be deemed invalid on its face, regardless of the reasonableness of its specific restrictions.
Below is a non-exhaustive discussion of some conditions necessary for noncompetes to be enforceable in certain states.
Numerous state laws require employees to receive minimum salaries or annual compensation to be bound by a noncompete agreement. The minimum compensation levels vary widely, and they often change over time. On the high end, the District of Columbia currently requires employees to earn at least $162,164 per year (more for certain medical specialists) for a noncompete to be enforceable against them. On the low end, New Hampshire prohibits noncompetes for employees who earn 200% or less of the federal minimum wage. Massachusetts prohibits noncompetes for employees who are classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Numerous other states have minimum annual compensation requirements that fall somewhere between those of New Hampshire and the...
RACINE, Wis. — A Racine County public defender has admitted in court to making up accusations that a sheriff's deputy shoved his client into a wall, with body camera footage showing the claims wer...