Employee Noncompete Clause Limits Adopted by Three More States

Three more states are adopting or amending laws that would limit, if not prevent, businesses from using noncompete provisions to block low-wage workers from jumping to competitors.

Oregon, Nevada and Illinois bills passed in the states’ latest legislative sessions aim to blunt the increasingly prevalent practice and could be harbingers of federal regulation to come.

The clauses, ostensibly meant to guard employer trade secrets, also hamper workers’ ability to change jobs or find work in the same profession after a layoff. Ten states and the District of Columbia have taken steps to curb the use of noncompetes for low-wage ...