What Employers Need to Know About the Potential for Federal Noncompete Legislation Under the New Administration

Noncompete agreements have always been governed solely by state law in the U.S., with no nationwide federal legislation or regulatory scheme. In an article published by Law360, Susan Guerette, Chris Stief, and Gabrielle Giombetti explore whether this might change under the Biden Administration.

The authors explain that, “[g]iven the extent of vested interests, both geographically and politically, a comprehensive fully federalized national law of noncompetes appears unlikely.” The more likely scenario “…may be enactment of a federal statute prohibiting noncompete agreements for low-wage workers, but specifically noting it does not prohibit the other restrictions such as nonsolicits, and does not prevent individual states from having laws providing greater protection for employees — such as, for instance, a higher definition of what constitutes a low wage worker."

To read the article visit Law360 (subscription required).