HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2332        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1701

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Lori A. Ehrlich

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the judicial enforcement of noncompetition agreements.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Lori A. Ehrlich

8th Essex

1/15/2015

William N. Brownsberger

Second Suffolk and Middlesex

1/28/2015

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

1/28/2015

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

1/20/2015

Jennifer E. Benson

37th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Kenneth I. Gordon

21st Middlesex

1/22/2015

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

3rd Berkshire

9/27/2019

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

9/27/2019

James R. Miceli

19th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Colleen M. Garry

36th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Dennis A. Rosa

4th Worcester

9/27/2019

Cory Atkins

14th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

9/27/2019

James M. Cantwell

4th Plymouth

9/27/2019

Alice Hanlon Peisch

14th Norfolk

9/27/2019

Tom Sannicandro

7th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Daniel A. Wolf

Cape and Islands

9/27/2019

Patricia D. Jehlen

Second Middlesex

9/27/2019

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Edward F. Coppinger

10th Suffolk

9/27/2019

Louis L. Kafka

8th Norfolk

9/27/2019

Carlos Gonzalez

10th Hampden

9/27/2019

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

9/27/2019

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex

9/27/2019

Diana DiZoglio

14th Essex

9/27/2019

Elizabeth A. Malia

11th Suffolk

9/27/2019

Sean Garballey

23rd Middlesex

9/27/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2332        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1701

By Ms. Ehrlich of Marblehead, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1701) of Lori A. Ehrlich and others for legislation to limit the time that former employees must wait before being employed by a competitor.  Labor and Workforce Development.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1715 OF 2013-2014.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

 

An Act relative to the judicial enforcement of noncompetition agreements.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 149 of the General Laws of Massachusetts shall be amended by inserting the following as Section 19D:

Section 19D.  Noncompetition Agreements

Any written or oral agreement arising out of an employment or independent contractor relationship that prohibits, impairs, restrains, restricts, or places any condition on a person's ability to seek, engage in, or accept any type of employment or independent contractor work, for any period of time after an employment or independent contractor relationship has ended, shall, to that extent, be void and unenforceable.  This section does not render void or unenforceable the remainder of the agreement containing the unenforceable noncompetition agreement, nor does it preclude the imposition by a court, through a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or otherwise, of a noncompetition restriction as a provisional or permanent remedy for a breach of another contractual obligation or violation of a statutory or common law duty.  Nor shall this section affect (i) covenants not to solicit or hire employees or independent contractors of the employer; (ii) covenants not to solicit or transact business with customers, clients, or vendors of the employer; (iii) nondisclosure agreements; (iv) noncompetition agreements made in connection with the sale of a business or partnership or substantially all of the assets of a business, when the party restricted by the noncompetition agreement is an owner of, or partner with, at least a ten percent interest of the business who received significant consideration for the sale; (v) noncompetition agreements outside of an employment or independent contractor relationship; (vi) forfeiture agreements; or (vii) agreements by which an employee agrees to not reapply for employment to the same employer after termination of the employee.

This section shall apply to all contracts and agreements executed after the effective date of this act.