Massachusetts Adopts New Noncompete Restrictions


Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently signed into law the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act. The Act imposes significant changes to the treatment and requirements of noncompetition agreements under Massachusetts law. The new requirements go into effect October 1, 2018, and apply prospectively to noncompete agreements entered into on or after that date.

Even employers who do not conduct any business in Massachusetts could be impacted by the Act because it applies to noncompetition agreements with employees and independent contractors who work or reside in Massachusetts and prohibits enforcement of choice-of-law provisions that seek to remove covered employees from its protection.

Below are key features of the Act:

A notable feature of this new Massachusetts law is that employers retain the right to enter into agreements with their employees that contain nondisclosure, confidentiality, customer nonsolicitation, and/or anti-employee raiding provisions. Moreover, an agreement on an employee's separation from employment is not considered a noncompetition agreement under this law, provided that the employee is given seven business days to rescind the separation agreement.


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National Law Review, Volume VIII, Number 226