D.C. Mayor Signs Council’s Near-Total Ban on Worker Noncompetes

Workplace contracts meant to prevent employees from jumping to competitors will be outlawed in the District of Columbia, under an unusually strict measure passed last month by the city council and now signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The near-total ban on employee noncompetes goes beyond the approach of several states including Maryland and Virginia that recently limited restrictive employment contracts, typically with a focus on protecting lower-wage or hourly workers’ ability to change jobs. The D.C. legislation signed by Bowser on Monday bans all employee noncompetes, with an exception for doctors who make more than $250,000 annually.

The D.C. law ...