Thanks for speaking out! You make fair points. As you say, there is often a mismatch between the limits imposed on an employee and the interests that the agreements are intended to protect. Also, in some parts of the marketplace, the agreements really do seem to be a leash designed to hold down labor costs.

The intention of the legislation we have framed is to limit the use of non-compete agreements to cases in which they protect legitimate interests and also to make them more narrowly drawn to reduce the kinds of mismatch that you identify. We expect that many non-compete agreements in the market today would stand under the legislation, but some would not. The legislation would help address some of the concerns that you address quite specifically — for example, it repudiates the doctrine of inevitable disclosure and prohibits their use unless very specific interests are protected.

We look forward to more feedback and encourage feedback that recognizes the progress the legislation actually makes and considers how it can be improved.

/w.