Massachusetts Non-Compete Laws (2026): Are Non-Competes Enforceable?

Massachusetts does not ban non-competes, but it regulates them closely. The Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, M.G.L. c. 149, 24L, says: "To be valid and enforceable, a noncompetition agreement must meet the minimum requirements of paragraphs (i) through (viii)." Those requirements include a 12-month cap, advance notice, and garden leave pay or other agreed consideration, and the Act cannot be enforced against hourly (nonexempt) workers or employees laid off or fired without cause. It applies to agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018.

For how other states treat these agreements, see our non-compete laws by state guide.

Information last verified on 2026-10-08. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Massachusetts law on employee non-compete agreements under the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (M.G.L. c. 149, 24L), the profession-specific statutes for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and broadcasters, and the common law for pre-October 2018 agreements, with a short note on the federal FTC rule. It does not cover trade-secret claims (see Massachusetts trade secret laws), severance pay (see Massachusetts severance pay laws), or covenants made in the sale of a business.

Are non-competes enforceable in Massachusetts?

Some are, if they clear the Act's requirements and the employee is not in a protected group. Section 24L applies to agreements made on or after October 1, 2018: St. 2018, c. 228, s. 71 says the section "shall apply to employee noncompetition agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018."

For an agreement signed before that date, the common law still governs. In Marine Contractors Co. v. Hurley, 365 Mass. 280 (1974), the Supreme Judicial Court held that employee non-competes are enforceable only to the extent necessary to protect legitimate business interests such as trade secrets, confidential information or goodwill. It added: "Protection of the employer from ordinary competition, however, is not a legitimate business interest, and a covenant not to compete designed solely for that purpose will not be enforced."

The Act covers more than traditional employees. For 24L, "employee" includes individuals who are employees under M.G.L. c. 149, 148B and also individuals who are independent contractors under that section.

The eight requirements of 24L(b)

A non-compete entered into on or after October 1, 2018 must meet all of these to be valid and enforceable:

The 12-month limit

The duration rule reads: "In no event may the stated restricted period exceed 12 months from the date of cessation of employment, unless the employee has breached his or her fiduciary duty to the employer or the employee has unlawfully taken, physically or electronically, property belonging to the employer, in which case the duration may not exceed 2 years from the date of cessation of employment."

Garden leave

Garden leave is pay during the restricted period. Under 24L(b)(vii), it must be at least 50 percent of the employee's highest annualized base salary paid by the employer within the 2 years before termination. The employer pays it pro rata through the restricted period, on the schedule the Wage Act (M.G.L. c. 149, 148) sets for wages, and may not unilaterally stop paying except when the employee breaches. The garden leave clause does not take effect if the employer waives the post-employment restriction, and no garden leave pay is owed for any extension of the restricted period beyond 12 months caused by the employee's breach of fiduciary duty or unlawful taking of the employer's property.

The alternative is "other mutually-agreed upon consideration" between the employer and employee that is specified in the agreement. The Act sets no minimum amount for that alternative. Bills pending in the Legislature would tighten it (see below), but they are not law.

Who cannot be bound

Under 24L(c), a non-compete cannot be enforced against:

• an employee who is classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201-219;
• students and interns, as the Act describes them;
• employees 18 years old or younger; and
• "employees that have been terminated without cause or laid off."

Massachusetts uses the federal overtime classification instead of a dollar salary threshold, so there is no indexed amount to track. Whether you are classified as exempt or nonexempt is the question that matters.

Fired, laid off or quit

An employee who is terminated without cause or laid off cannot be held to a non-compete under 24L(c). An employee who resigns, or who is fired for cause, can be, if the agreement meets the eight requirements.

If the reason for your termination is disputed, that question may decide whether the non-compete can be enforced, so it is worth raising with a lawyer.

Physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and broadcasters

Five separate statutes protect specific professions:

• Physicians: under M.G.L. c. 112, 12X, a post-termination restriction on where a registered physician may practice "shall be void and unenforceable with respect to said restriction." The rest of the contract survives.
• Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses: under M.G.L. c. 112, 74D, a restriction on a nurse's right to practice as a nurse in any geographical area for any period after the relationship ends "shall be void and unenforceable with respect to said restriction." The rest of the contract survives.
• Licensed psychologists: M.G.L. c. 112, 129B makes a post-employment geographic restriction on a licensed psychologist's practice "void and unenforceable with respect to the restriction"; the remainder of the contract survives.
• Licensed social workers: M.G.L. c. 112, 135C makes a post-employment geographic restriction on a licensed social worker's practice "void and unenforceable with respect to that restriction."
• Broadcasting employees: M.G.L. c. 149, 186 voids post-employment geographic restrictions on broadcasting industry employees, and provides: "Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be liable for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs associated with litigation of an affected employee or individual."

These are the profession-specific statutes found by phrase searches of the General Laws, so others may exist. A counselor or other licensee should have a lawyer check whether a profession-specific rule applies.

What 24L does not cover

The Act's definition of "noncompetition agreement" excludes:

• employee non-solicitation and no-hire agreements;
• customer, client and vendor non-solicitation agreements;
• covenants made in the sale of a business by a significant owner who receives significant consideration;
• agreements outside an employment relationship;
• forfeiture agreements (but a forfeiture-for-competition agreement is covered);
• nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements;
• invention assignment agreements;
• garden leave clauses;
• non-competes made in connection with the end of employment if the employee is expressly given seven business days to rescind acceptance; and
• agreements not to reapply for a job with the same employer.

Those agreements are outside the Act's formalities and remain governed by the common law. The separation exclusion matters if you are offered a non-compete as part of a severance package: it is outside 24L only if you are expressly given seven business days to rescind. See Massachusetts severance pay laws for the rest of a separation agreement.

What a court does with an overbroad non-compete

Massachusetts courts can rewrite. Section 24L provides: "A court may, in its discretion, reform or otherwise revise a noncompetition agreement so as to render it valid and enforceable to the extent necessary to protect the applicable legitimate business interests."

The Act also says an invalid non-compete does not void the rest of the contract, and a court can still impose restrictions through an injunction based on a different agreement or a statutory or common-law duty.

Choice of law and where a case is filed

An employer cannot avoid the Act with an out-of-state choice-of-law clause if the employee was a Massachusetts resident, or was employed in Massachusetts, for at least 30 days immediately before employment ended. That clause is unenforceable for those employees.

The Act also sets the venue: "All civil actions relating to employee noncompetition agreements subject to this section shall be brought in the county where the employee resides." If the employer and employee agree, the case may be filed in Suffolk County, where the Superior Court or its Business Litigation Session has exclusive jurisdiction.

Penalties and remedies

Section 24L has no fine or attorney's fee provision for employees; the consequence of a non-compliant agreement is that it cannot be enforced. Fee-shifting exists only for broadcasting employees under M.G.L. c. 149, 186. Disputes over 24L are decided in court, under the venue rule above.

Non-competes and trade secrets

A non-compete limits where you can work; trade-secret protection is a separate body of law, and the Act lets courts enforce other duties even when a non-compete fails. See Massachusetts trade secret laws.

Pending bills (194th General Court, 2025-2026)

None of these is law:

• S.1336 (Sen. Jehlen): would add "Effective January 1, 2026, noncompetition agreements, as defined in this section, shall be void and unenforceable." Reported favorably by the Labor and Workforce Development committee on December 22, 2025 and referred to Senate Ways and Means; no later action seen. The January 1, 2026 date in the text has already passed.
• H.2118 (Rep. Gordon): although its petition summary describes a ban, the bill text would only require that "other mutually-agreed upon consideration" be reasonably related to the requirements of the garden leave clause. It was reported favorably on February 19, 2026, ordered to a third reading on March 16, 2026, and is listed as referred to the House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading.
• Economic development bill (H.5386, H.5527, H.5576): the Governor's bill and a House committee draft would have changed the garden-leave alternative so that other consideration must be negotiated at separation and be at least equal in value to garden leave pay. The House-engrossed H.5576 and the Senate version S.3228 contain no change to 24L. A conference committee was appointed on July 30, 2026. As of October 9, 2026 the bill page showed no later action, and the 2026 session laws listed on the Legislature's site included no act amending 24L.

The FTC rule and Massachusetts non-competes

The FTC's nationwide non-compete rule never took effect. A federal court in Texas set it aside on August 20, 2024 (Ryan, LLC v. FTC, No. 3:24-CV-00986-E, N.D. Tex.), the FTC voted on September 5, 2025 to dismiss its appeals, and the FTC removed the rule from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026. The FTC still acts case by case, for example approving a final order on June 22, 2026 that required a pest-control company to stop enforcing non-competes. Massachusetts law governs Massachusetts agreements; more detail is in FTC non-compete ban struck down and our non-compete laws by state guide.

If you have been asked to sign

The Act requires the agreement to tell you that you may consult a lawyer, and gives new hires until the earlier of the offer or 10 business days before starting. Whether a specific agreement holds up depends on its signing date, your FLSA classification, its duration, geography and scope, and the garden leave or other consideration it provides. A lawyer licensed in Massachusetts can review it against 24L.

Related

• Non-compete laws by state
• Massachusetts trade secret laws
• Massachusetts severance pay laws
• Massachusetts at-will employment laws
• FTC non-compete ban struck down

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Massachusetts non-compete law under the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (M.G.L. c. 149, 24L), not legal advice. The information was last verified on 2026-10-08. For advice about a specific agreement, contact a legal aid office or a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts.

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are non-competes enforceable in Massachusetts?

Some are. A non-compete entered into on or after October 1, 2018 is enforceable only if it meets the eight requirements of M.G.L. c. 149, 24L(b), including a 12-month cap and garden leave or other agreed consideration, and it cannot be enforced against the categories of workers listed in 24L(c).

How long can a non-compete last in Massachusetts?

No more than 12 months from the end of employment, or up to 2 years if the employee breached a fiduciary duty or unlawfully took the employer's property (M.G.L. c. 149, 24L(b)).

What is garden leave in Massachusetts?

It is pay during the restricted period of at least 50% of the employee's highest annualized base salary in the 2 years before leaving, paid pro rata, which the employer cannot unilaterally stop except for the employee's breach (24L(b)(vii)). Other mutually agreed consideration specified in the agreement can be used instead.

Is a Massachusetts non-compete enforceable if I am fired or laid off?

Not if you were terminated without cause or laid off: 24L(c) bars enforcement against those employees. If you quit or were fired for cause, the non-compete still has to meet the Act's requirements to be enforced.

Can hourly employees be bound by a non-compete in Massachusetts?

A non-compete cannot be enforced against an employee classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (24L(c)). The Act uses that federal classification rather than a dollar salary threshold.

How much notice does a Massachusetts employer have to give before a non-compete?

For a new hire, by the earlier of a formal offer or 10 business days before employment starts. For a current employee, at least 10 business days before the agreement takes effect, plus fair and reasonable consideration beyond continued employment (24L(b)).

Do Massachusetts non-compete rules apply to non-solicitation agreements?

No. Customer and employee non-solicitation agreements, nondisclosure agreements and invention assignments are excluded from the Act's definition of a noncompetition agreement, so its requirements do not apply to them.

Can doctors and social workers have non-competes in Massachusetts?

A post-employment restriction on where a physician (M.G.L. c. 112, 12X), a registered or licensed practical nurse (c. 112, 74D), a licensed psychologist (c. 112, 129B) or a licensed social worker (c. 112, 135C) may practice is void and unenforceable; the rest of the contract survives.

Can a Massachusetts employer avoid the Act with another state's law?

Not for an employee who was a Massachusetts resident or employed in Massachusetts for at least 30 days immediately before leaving; for those employees a choice-of-law clause avoiding 24L is unenforceable.

Did Massachusetts ban non-competes in 2026?

No. S.1336, which would make noncompetition agreements void, was reported favorably on December 22, 2025 and referred to Senate Ways and Means, with no later action seen; it was not law as of our last check.

Does the FTC non-compete ban apply in Massachusetts?

No. A federal court set the FTC rule aside on August 20, 2024, and the FTC removed it from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026, so Massachusetts non-competes are governed by M.G.L. c. 149, 24L.