Updates on No-Compete Clauses

A large number of employers are making it hard for former employees to find work after they quit. No-competes used to be restricted to occupations such as lawyers, physicians and the like. If you quit, you couldn’t take your employer’s clients and open shop a mile away. But now, even fast food chains prohibit sandwich makers from working in town after they quit. The remedy? New legislation. Summary: A new Oregon law will limit noncompetition agreements to a maximum of 18 months from the date of the employee’s termination. Hawaii has a new law that voids any noncompetition clause or a non-solicitation clause in employment contracts of employees of a technology business. Alabama has a new law that limits no-competes to “reasonable restrictions.”