Washington D.C. Archives

DC Finally Prunes its Ban on Non-Competes

When initially enacted in January 2021, the District of Columbia’s Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act was one of the broadest non-compete prohibitions in the country. Its effective date, however, was delayed on several occasions amid widespread criticism of its comprehensive scope. For more information about the original act and its subsequent delay, please see our previous posts on the matter here and here. The DC Council ultimately passed a scaled back version some 18 months later.

Effective October 1, 2022, the Non-Compete Clarification Amendment Act of 2022 (the “Amended Act”) limits the scope of the initial ban by narrowing of (a) the definition of a “non-compete provision” and (b) applicability to certain highly compensated employees (“HCEs”).

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Washington, D.C.’s Non-Compete Ban Delayed Again

The Washington, D.C. Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Act of 2020 (D.C. Act) is on hold once again, this time due to emergency legislation signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier this week. The new legislation pushes the D.C. Act’s effective date from April 1 to October 1, 2022. As reported here, the D.C. Act is one of the most comprehensive bans on employee non-competition restrictions to date. It not only prohibits post-separation non-competes for employees working within the District (consistent with what a handful of states, including California, already do), but also rejects common “anti-moonlighting” provisions that prevent employees from working for another employer, including a competitor, during their employment.

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Several States are Increasing Penalties for Enforcing Non-Compete Agreements

As non-competition laws and the scrutiny of non-compete agreements continue to be in the spotlight, several states are revisiting their non-compete laws. Colorado has been in the spotlight after the Colorado Legislature passed S.B. 21-271 on July 6, 2021 in an effort to reform the sentencing provisions related to numerous petty offenses and misdemeanors. As a result, several Colorado laws related to labor and employment are affected, including Colorado’s statute addressing restrictive covenant agreements, C.R.S. § 8-2-113.

Under C.R.S. § 8-2-113, it is unlawful to: intimidate workers in order to limit their ability to engage in lawful work; and enter into covenants that restrict trade, such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, unless the covenants fit within limited exceptions provided under the statute. The penalty if convicted for violating the non-compete statute is currently a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $10–$250, or jail time of not more than 60 days, or both. C.R.S. § 8-2-115. Effective March 1, 2022, the penalty for violating the non-compete statute will be increased to a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail, or a fine of up to $750, or both, as a result of the changes from S.B. 21-271. S.B. 21-271 also amends the text of C.R.S. § 8-2-113 to include the increased penalty as a new subsection (4).

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