Rep. David Meuse
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Updates

State House Updates

Improving Job Mobility for New Hampshire Workers

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Non-compete agreements restrict the ability of workers to change jobs or to find employment after a job ends. HB-346 is the first bill I’m submitting as a new state legislator. It would make these agreements illegal for low-wage workers. It would also add new rules to limit their length and geographic coverage for workers not meeting the definition of a low-wage worker; and would require employers to compensate employees during the non-compete period after they leave the company.

“It’s one thing to have a bump in the road and be in between jobs for a little while; it’s another thing to be prevented from doing the only thing you know how to do.”

My bill is based on bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sen. David Watters in the previous session of the legislature that was approved in the House, but died in the Senate. The original bill—which Sen. Watters has resubmitted in the Senate—would have simply banned employers from enforcing non-compete agreements for low wage workers.

Restricting the mobility of low wage workers is an increasing common practice that makes little sense in a state where there are far more retail, service, health care, and manufacturing job openings than interested candidates to fill them. Non-compete agreements are simply a way for employers to minimize competition for the workers they already have, while keeping their wages artificially lower than they might be in a market where they could freely change jobs.

My bill takes Sen. Watters’ bill an important step further. In addition to protecting low-wage workers, it would create new requirements for non-compete agreements that would apply to workers at all pay levels. My goals are to:

  1. Offer more protection for any worker trying to switch jobs to improve their standard of living, seeking to move up the career ladder, or simply trying to find a new job after losing their old one.

  2. Protect older workers terminated from their positions from being hand-cuffed by an agreement without adequate compensation that could take them out of the job market long enough to effectively kill their careers.

  3. Make New Hampshire a more attractive place for innovation companies needing the types of skilled workers usually forced to sign non-competes (engineers, consultants, researchers, sales & marketing specialists, etc.).

  4. Encourage employers to think twice (or maybe even 3 or 4 times) before requiring any employee to sign a non-compete agreement restricting their ability to find work or move to a better paying job without fair compensation.

For low wage workers, non-compete agreements are simply unconscionable. For other workers, they can be a roadblock to opening a new business, to moving on to a better opportunity, or to simply resuming their career after a layoff or job elimination. The prevalence of these agreements also makes it more difficult for small start-ups—the lifesblood of an innovation economy appealing to younger workers—to staff up with qualified people.

It’s exciting to be taking the first small steps towards delivering on a campaign promise to do my part to help make NH a better place to live and work. You can read the full text of the bill here.

Have a personal story to share about your experience in New Hampshire with a non-compete agreement? Please contact me.

For more information see:

David Meuse