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ARTICLE · 08 JULY 2016

MA House Passes Significant Noncompete Reform Bill

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On June 29, 2016, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a comprehensive noncompete reform bill by a vote of 149-0.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Michael Rosen
Michael Rosen
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On June 29, 2016, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a comprehensive noncompete reform bill by a vote of 149-0.  Given that the Senate last year passed a somewhat similar bill (but the legislation stalled on the House side), it seems quite likely that a new noncompete law will be passed by the legislature before the close of the current session on July 31.  Whether the Governor will sign it is uncertain.  The bill is here.  It is focused on traditional employee non-competition agreements and generally does not apply to various other kinds of restrictive covenants, such as non-solicitation agreements, sale of business noncompetes, and invention assignment  provisions.  Here are the most significant features:

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