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Round Up of Noncompete Reform Coming to New England
Noncompete reform is taking over the country as more and more states – including four in New England – are making the decision to enact new laws restricting the use of noncompetition agreements by employers. Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island all recently passed legislation that is expected to take effect soon, and a similar bill is pending in Vermont as well. Dates of note include:
- In June 2019, Maine’s governor signed into law LD 733: An Act To Promote Keeping Workers in Maine. This new law took effect September 18, 2019.
- On July 11, 2019, New Hampshire’s governor signed S.B. 197 into law, which amends New Hampshire’s previous statute governing the use of noncompetition agreements. The amended law took effect on September 8, 2019.
- On July 15, 2019, Rhode Island’s governor signed RI H6019 – the Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act, which will go into effect on January 1, 2020.
- In January 2019, H.1 was introduced in the Vermont legislature. The bill was referred to the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, where it remains as of today.
Noncompete reform is gaining popularity, with more states likely to join in soon. Similar legislation has been proposed on the federal level as well, although the current federal bill, the Federal Freedom to Compete Act, has not gained much support yet and is currently sitting in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Our Employment Law Alert explains the full extent of the bills and how they may affect you.
DOL Issues New Final Rule for Exempting Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees under the FLSA
By: Amanda Thibodeau
The Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule today, updating its regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule raises the threshold salary and annual compensation levels for exempting executive, administrative, and professional employees, including raising the “standard salary level” for exempting executive, administrative, and professional employees from the currently enforced level of $455 per week (the equivalent of $23,660 per year for a full-year worker) to $684 per week (the equivalent of $35,568 per year for a full-year worker). It further allows employers the ability to apply a portion of bonuses or commissions received by those employees towards that salary level, for purposes of meeting the exemption. The final rule will be effective January 1, 2020. For more information, or to review the final rule itself, visit the DOL’s announcement here.
For more information, please contact Matthew Mitchell or Amanda Thibodeau.
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