Washington has taken its 2019 restrictions on noncompetes to their logical conclusion: a near-total ban. Under ESHB 1155 (Chapter 149, Laws of 2026), signed March 23, 2026 and effective June 30, 2027, virtually every noncompetition covenant with a Washington worker becomes void and unenforceable. This is one of the most significant changes to Washington employment and contract law in years, and it reaches agreements you have already signed.
What the law does
Beginning June 30, 2027, the enacted law amends chapter 49.62 RCW to make all noncompetition covenants void and unenforceable regardless of when they were signed. The old rules—an income threshold (previously about $100,000 for employees), disclosure requirements, and a presumption that anything over 18 months was unreasonable—are gone. There is no longer a salary level high enough to make a noncompete enforceable.
Who is covered
The ban protects employees and independent contractors, and the amended definition also expressly reaches performers and performance spaces. It applies to Washington-based workers and businesses across the board. The statute directs courts to construe the protections liberally and the exceptions narrowly.
Enforcing—or even mentioning—a noncompete becomes a violation
The law does more than refuse to enforce these covenants. It makes it a violation for an employer to enforce, attempt to enforce, or threaten to enforce a noncompete, or even to represent to a worker that they are subject to one, or to enter into a new one. A worker aggrieved by a violation can recover the greater of actual damages or a $5,000 statutory penalty, plus attorneys’ fees and costs, and the Attorney General may also pursue relief.
What is not banned
The act preserves a short list of narrowly defined tools: genuine nonsolicitation agreements, confidentiality agreements, trade-secret and invention covenants, covenants tied to the sale of a business (for an owner of one percent or more), qualifying franchise covenants, and limited educational-expense repayment agreements. We break those down in a companion post. The headline, though, is simple: the general employment noncompete is finished in Washington.
What to do before June 30, 2027
- Inventory every agreement that contains a noncompete—offer letters, employment agreements, equity and bonus plans, and contractor agreements.
- Stop presenting new noncompetes to Washington workers and remove them from your templates.
- Plan to shift protection to the tools that survive: well-drafted confidentiality, trade-secret, and (narrow) nonsolicitation provisions.
- Calendar the October 1, 2027 notice duty (covered separately)—you will have to affirmatively tell current and former workers their covenants are void.
There is a runway here, but not a long one. The templates and playbooks most businesses rely on will need to be rebuilt before mid-2027.
If you have questions about noncompetes, nonsolicitation clauses, employment agreements, and related services you can reach us at martinkreshon.com or call (206) 929-0609. You can also find reviews for Martin on Google and Avvo.