As many of you may know, for years noncompete agreements in Washington have been on life support. With each legislative update, lawmakers would narrow these provisions and/or make them harder to enforce. But even so, there was still a version of the rule where, if you paid an employee or independent contractor enough (to satisfy earnings thresholds set by lawmakers), a noncompete could survive.
Now even that version of the rule is gone.
This is because in March 2026, Washington moved away from its earnings-threshold framework and replaced it with what is effectively a near-total ban on noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors alike. The new law takes effect on June 30, 2027. So if you have these agreements in your contracts, you should assume they will soon no longer be enforceable and are not providing the protection you think they are.
Below is a summary of the change in the law and our recommendations for how to respond.
What Changed in the Law
Under the prior version of Washington State’s noncompete laws, noncompetes were allowed if the worker earned above a specified income level. The threshold was approximately $116,000 for employees and $290,000 for independent contractors. The idea was that this threshold operated as a carveout that permitted noncompetes to be used with higher-paid workers who were considered less susceptible to the types of harm these restrictions can cause.
That framework was reflected directly in the statute. It provided, in substance, that a noncompetition covenant was void and unenforceable “unless the employee’s earnings from the party seeking enforcement exceed” the statutory threshold (and similarly for independent contractors based on compensation).
That language has now been removed. The current law no longer ties enforceability to earnings at all. Instead, it treats noncompete provisions themselves as impermissible in most circumstances, regardless of how much the worker is paid.
There are still limited exceptions. For example, noncompete-type restrictions may still be enforceable in connection with the sale of a business. Further, the law does not prohibit protections like confidentiality or certain non-solicitation provisions. But those are narrow carveouts. For most day-to-day employment and independent contractor relationships, the practical rule is now the same: traditional noncompete provisions are off the table.
What This Means for Existing Agreements
If you have agreements in place that rely on noncompete provisions, those provisions are now very likely unenforceable under current law, even if they were compliant when drafted.
If you have these provisions in your contracts, you should assume they are no longer enforceable and certainly you should not try to enforce them. Those agreements won’t fix themselves and should therefore be revisited and revised to remove or replace those provisions. Keeping noncompete language in your agreements, when the law now treats those provisions as unenforceable, can create real risk. Washington’s law allows workers to challenge these provisions and recover damages, plus their attorneys’ fees, if a noncompete is found to violate the statute. It can also be a violation to attempt to enforce a noncompete, threaten to enforce it, or even represent that a worker is subject to one.
There is also a notice requirement. Employers must make reasonable efforts to notify current and former workers that their noncompete agreements are void, and that notice must be provided by October 1, 2027.
While noncompetes are out, this doesn’t mean you’re left without any protection. Instead of trying to restrict competition outright, business owners can protect their relationships and information by strengthening confidentiality provisions. These provisions should clearly define what information is protected and how it can be used. Non-solicitation provisions that prohibit former employees and independent contractors from soliciting customers can also be useful as well. Essentially, the strategy now needs to shift from trying to prevent someone from competing to making sure they can’t walk away with business information and relationships that aren’t theirs to take. But this also requires care in drafting and use, since confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions can themselves create risk if they are overly broad, or used in a way that conflicts with, or improperly circumvents, the current statute.
Practical Takeaways
Given the change in the law, we recommend the following steps:
- Find and flag your noncompetes. Review your current employment and independent contractor agreements and templates and identify where noncompete language still appears.
- Stop using outdated forms. If your agreements still include noncompete language, those templates should be pulled and updated.
- Revise, don’t just delete. Simply removing the noncompete may not be enough. Agreements should be reworked to include enforceable protections that actually fit the current law.
- Tighten confidentiality provisions. Use confidentiality provisions to define who owns the customer relationship, how information is shared, and what access people have. Be clear about what information is protected and how it can be used. This is now one of your primary lines of defense.
- Use non-solicitation carefully. Ensure non-solicitation provisions are narrowly drafted and aligned with the statute. That is, limit non-solicitation to customers the worker actually worked with, and keep the restriction focused on active solicitation. Avoid blanket bans on doing business.
- Don’t improperly circumvent the noncompete prohibition. The statute clarifies that certain provisions that function like noncompetes, such as restrictions that effectively prevent a worker from doing business with customers, or provisions that impose financial penalties for competing, may be treated as noncompetes and subject to the same prohibition.
- Be thoughtful about enforcement. If a dispute comes up, assume the noncompete is off the table and approach it accordingly. Trying to rely on it can create more problems than it solves.
In short, while noncompetes are a thing of the past, there are still ways businesses can protect themselves from improper use of their information and relationships. It just requires more thoughtfulness and care.