Another Bill in Congress Seeks to Limit Non-Competes

July 9, 2021

President Biden is moving toward reducing non-compete agreements that limit economic innovation and prosperity. Congressman Peters agrees and co-introduced the Workforce Mobility Act in February of 2021 to narrow the use of non-compete agreements and help workers achieve their full potential.

Read more about his bill in this March 2nd piece by JDSupra, posted below:

Another Bill in Congress Seeks to Limit Non-Competes

March 2nd, 2021

On February 25, 2021, the Workforce Mobility Act, a bipartisan bill to limit the use of non-compete agreements, was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Scott Peters (D-Cal.).

This year’s Workforce Mobility Act is the latest of several attempts in recent years at the federal level to restrict non-compete agreements through legislation. Despite bipartisan support at times, none has passed either the Senate or the House. Will there be a different result this time around?

There may be some reason to think so. The Biden administration appears to be in favor of banning one or more forms of non-competition agreements on a national level. In December 2020, then President-elect Biden released a Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective Bargaining, and Unions, which stated “Biden will work with Congress to eliminate all non-compete agreements, except the very few that are absolutely necessary to protect a narrowly defined category of trade secrets, and outright ban all no-poaching agreements.”

Enactment of the Workforce Mobility Act in 2021, however, still seems like a long shot. If the bill progresses in Congress, it will be subject to heavy lobbying from both sides of the issue. For employers, the bill’s restrictions would have a major impact on businesses that seek to protect confidential information that may not rise to the level of trade secrets, including business strategy and client-related information. If enacted, the bill also threatens to upend decades’ worth of legal precedent by introducing a federal statute that will be interpreted primarily in federal courts, in an area that has been governed by practice and precedent premised on a patchwork of state common law and some state statutes. Stay tuned.

3.31.02

News

Peters called “one of the more statesmanlike of our elected representatives”

Young, old challenge San Diego's history of civic status quoBy Neil MorganSAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNEMarch 31, 2002I welcome the tangy...

Paid for by Scott Peters for Congress

Share

California District 52

Is Scott your Representative in Congress?

Type in your address to find out.

You are in District 52!

For more ways to help, please check out the link below:

Get Involved

Not in this district!

According to our data, you are not in District 52! Please verify this information at the CA Dems website!

CA Dems

The data here is provided by 3rd-party services. For best results, please visit CA Dems