More and more states are amending their non-compete statutes to make them more employee-friendly. This trend has continued into 2018, spurred by a White House report that highlighted the prevalence of non-compete agreements among low-skilled workers and the revelation that some of the largest employers, like Jimmy John's and Amazon, were requiring their employees to sign non-compete agreements.

In 2017, California, Illinois, and Nevada amended their non-compete laws to help protect employees' right to change employers vis-à-vis the employers' right to restrict unfair competition. In the first half of 2018, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado did so as well.

Utah Now Restricts Use Of Non-Competes In Broadcasting Industry

In March 2018, Utah amended its non-compete statute to restrict the use of non-compete agreements in broadcast journalism. Specifically, employers may enforce non-compete agreements against employee in the broadcasting industry only if: (1) the employee receives a salary of at least $913 per week or $47,500 a year; (2) the non-compete clause is part of a written employment agreement with a term of less than four years; and (3) the employee was terminated "for cause" or he/she breached the employment agreement in a manner that resulted in his or her separation.

Idaho Has Modified Standard of Proof For Non-Compete Enforcement Actions

This March, Idaho repealed a two-year-old amendment to its non-compete law. The amendment created a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm with respect to "key employees" and "key independent contractors," thus putting the burden on these employees to prove that they had no ability to adversely affect the employer's legitimate business interests as a result of their competitive employment.

The 2018 bill repealed this rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm. Therefore, Idaho has effectively placed the burden back on companies to establish a likelihood of irreparable harm before an injunction in a breach of non-compete case can be issued.

Colorado Now Prohibits Physician Non-Competes for Rare Disease Patients

Colorado generally allows non-compete agreements with physicians when certain conditions are met. The 2018 amendment to the non-compete statute added a paragraph to permit physicians to continue to treat patients with rare disorders without liability, even when providing such service would otherwise violate their non-compete agreements. Thus, the amendment protects physicians and their new employers from damages for providing care to patients with a rare disorder, as defined in accordance with the criteria developed by the National Organization For Rare Disorders, Inc., or any successor organization.

Many other states are considering amendments to their non-compete statutes and we are likely to see more changes in that area of the law in the second half of 2018. The days of one-size-fits-all non-compete agreements for multi-state employers are gone, and now companies need to make sure that their non-compete agreements are compliant in all the applicable jurisdictions.

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