By Bryan Benard
The first attempt to further revise the new Utah law on post-employment restrictive covenants (non-competes) has failed. House Bill 81, by Representative Greene from Utah County, would have further limited the use and viability of non-compete agreements in Utah. On Friday afternoon February 17, 2017, the House rejected the bill (22 voted “yes” and 49 voted “no”). Consequently, there is no current non-compete bill in play at the Legislature.
Much of the floor debate focused on waiting for the results of the non-compete study that is being conducted by the Cicero Group (and with which Holland & Hart’s Bryan Benard spent hours assisting with the drafting of the questions). The study was part of the compromise with House Leadership brokered by the working group created by the Salt Lake Chamber and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (of which Mr. Benard was a member). The research study results will come out February 24, 2017.
After the results come out, it is likely that Representative Schultz (and Speaker Hughes) will propose a bill related to the results, so please stay tuned.
Other Utah bills to watch:
HB238 has revisions to the Payment of Wages Act and passed the House earlier this week and is now in Senate committee.
HB242 proposed extending Family and Medical Leave Act requirements to employers with 30 or more employees (rather than 50 or more under federal law). This bill is currently being held in committee and rumor is that it will not proceed.
HB213 has significant revisions to Utah’s Antidiscrimination Act which could be harmful to Utah employers. Currently the bill is headed to the House Business and Labor Committee for hearing.
