2023 -- H 5370
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LC001308
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND
NONCOMPETITION AGREE MENT ACT
Introduced By: Representatives Cotter, Casimiro, Potter, Morales, Shanley, Carson,
Fogarty, Cortvriend, McGaw, and Bennett
Date Introduced: February 03, 2023
Referred To: House Labor
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 28-59-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-59 entitled "Rhode Island 1
Noncompetition Agreement Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
28-59-3. Enforceability. 3
(a) A noncompetition agreement shall not be enforceable against the following types of 4
workers: 5
(1) An employee who is classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 6
U.S.C. ยงยง 201-219; 7
(2) Undergraduate or graduate students who participate in an internship or otherwise enter 8
a short-term employment relationship with an employer, whether paid or unpaid, while enrolled at 9
an educational institution; 10
(3) Employees age eighteen (18) or younger; or 11
(4) A low-wage employee. 12
(b) This section does not render void or unenforceable the remainder of a contract or 13
agreement containing the unenforceable noncompetition agreement, nor does it preclude the 14
imposition of a noncompetition restriction by a court, whether through preliminary or permanent 15
injunctive relief or otherwise, as a remedy for a breach of another agreement or of a statutory or 16
common law duty. 17
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from entering into an agreement with 18
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an employee not to share any information, including after the employee is no longer employed by 1
the employer, regarding the employer or the employment that is a trade secret. 2
(d) Except as provided in this chapter, every contract or contractual provision by which an 3
employee is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to 4
that extent void. 5
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 6
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND
NONCOMPETITION AGREE MENT ACT
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This act would void all portions of noncompetition agreements in this state, which restrain 1
an employee from engaging in a lawful profession, trade or business of any kind. 2
This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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LC001308
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