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ARTICLE · 09 MARCH 2022

More States Eye Low-Wage Non-Compete Bans

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Over the past 10–15 years, we have seen an explosion of legislative activity related to restrictive covenants.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Dawn Mertineit
Dawn Mertineit
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Over the past 10–15 years, we have seen an explosion of legislative activity related to restrictive covenants. This activity is happening not only in state legislatures but on the federal level as well. While each proposal is different, we've certainly seen trends emerge, including required notice provisions, fee shifting, and choice of law and venue requirements.

One of the most prevalent trends is the move towards banning non-competes (and sometimes, other restrictive covenants) for so-called "low-wage workers." To date, 10 states have implemented a low-wage ban of sorts: Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia, and .1

Notably, it's not just blue states moving in this direction. Soon to join their ranks? Iowa and West Virginia, possibly. In Iowa, the Republican legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit the use of non-competes with employees who earn "an average monthly wage that is less than or

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