Oregon Increases Salary Threshold For Noncompetition Agreements

In January, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) announced a new minimum salary threshold for noncompetition agreements. Effective immediately, for an Oregon noncompetition agreement to be enforceable, the total amount of the employee's annual gross salary and commissions at the time of termination must exceed $116,427  (up from $113,241). In addition to meeting the minimum salary threshold, Oregon's other statutory requirements for enforcing noncompetition agreements remain in effect:

• Employers must either (a) inform new employees in writing at least two weeks before the first day of the employee's employment that a noncompetition agreement is required as a condition of employment, or (b) require a noncompetition agreement only after a subsequent bona fide advancement of an existing employee;