Compliance Stuff

The Court of Appeals of Virginia just issued a surprising ruling that expands the state’s statute banning non-competes for low-wage employees to also include some non-solicitation agreements. The January 27 decision in  Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera  should cause employers in Virginia to revisit their restrictive covenant strategy. Here is what employers need to know and a list of action items you should consider. Enforceability of Non-Solicitation Agreements Against Low-Wage Employees In 2020, the Virginia legislature enacted a law prohibiting employers from entering into or enforcing a post-employment “covenant not to compete” against “low-wage” employees, defined as any employee earning less than the average weekly wage in the Commonwealth ($1507.01 per week in 2026), with limited exceptions.   Lawmakers amended the statute  in 2025 to expand the prohibition to cover any employee who is non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  You can read more...

A public workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission earlier this week signaled that the agency is still pursuing an aggressive enforcement agenda when it comes to noncompete agreements. While the Trump FTC takes the position that it does not have the authority to ban noncompetes outright, Tuesday’s workshop made clear that it will take on “abusive” agreements on a case-by-case basis – on behalf of both workers and consumers . Read on for highlights from the workshop and steps employers can take to stay on the FTC’s good side. 3 Biggest Takeaways From FTC Workshop The message from the FTC under both the Biden and Trump administrations is the same: abusive noncompetes are a problem. The difference is in their approach.   Chairman Andrew Ferguson began the workshop by explaining how he views the FTC’s role in regulating noncompete agreements between employers and employees. He reiterated his position that  the attempted Biden-era FTC noncompete ban  was unlawful and tha...

Noncompete provisions continue to be governed by a constantly changing patchwork of state level legislation. In general, recent laws tend to limit their use among low wage earners or individuals in certain professions, such as health care workers or veterinarians. In July, amendments to such laws will go into effect in Virginia, Arkansas, and a newly issued statute will go into effect in Wyoming. A summary of each follow. Virginia Effective Date:  July 1. Statute:   SB 1218 . Existing Law:  Pursuant to  § 40.1-28.7:8  of the Virginia Code, low wage employees in Virginia may not be bound by noncompete agreements. Prior to SB 1218, low wage employees included any employee with average weekly earnings that are less than the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth. Key Changes: The new law expands the definition of “low wage workers” who cannot be bound by noncompete agreements to include all employees entitled to overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a w...