MA Legislative Session Ends Without Noncompete Compromise

The Massachusetts legislature ended its 2015-16 session last night without reaching a compromise on a bill to significantly reform the law of non-competition agreements in the Commonwealth. Negotiations continued late into the waning hours of the session, but legislators could not resolve the significant differences between the competing reform visions represented by the House and Senate bills.  Early reports indicate that the final disagreement was focused on the garden leave requirement, with the Senate's bill requiring full pay for the duration of the noncompete period, and the House bill requiring 50% pay or other mutually-agreed upon compensation.

As this is a presidential election year, the legislature is adjourned until the start of a new session in January, at which point proposed legislation will need to be re-introduced and the process will begin again.