,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #abd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #ae1       
#bjai,mr4 ,rubio introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,health1 
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend the ,fair ,labor      
,standards ,act of #aich to prevent     
employers from using non-compete        
agreements in employment contracts for  
certain non-exempt employees4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,freedom to ,compete ,act4  #b4     
,limitation on non-compete agreements   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,fair ,labor       
,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 
#bja et seq47 is amended by inserting   
after section #g the following3  #h4    
,limitation on non-compete agreements   
7a7 ,definition of non-,compete         
agreement ,in this section1 the term    
non-compete agreement means an          
agreement1 entered into between an      
employer and an employee1 that restricts

 such employee from performing1 after   
the employment relationship between the 
employer and the employee terminates1   
any of the following3  7#a7 ,any work   
for another employer for a specified    
period of time4  7#b7 ,any work in a    
specified geographical area4  7#c7 ,any 
work for another employer that is       
similar to such employee's work for the 
employer that is a party to such        
agreement4  7b7 ,in general  7#a7 ,no   
enforcement of non-compete agreements   
,any non-compete agreement entered into 
before the date of enactment of the     
,freedom to ,compete ,act shall be void 
and have no effect4 ,an employer shall  
not enforce1 or threaten to enforce1 any
 non-compete agreement with an employee4
  7#b7 ,no new non-compete agreements   
,beginning on the date of enactment of  
the ,freedom to ,compete ,act1 an       
employer shall not enter into1 extend1  
or renew any non-compete agreement with 
an employee4  7#c7 ,limit on            
applicability ,this subsection shall not

 apply with respect to any employee     
described in section #ac7;a77#a74  7c7  
,rule of construction regarding trade   
secrets ,nothing in this section shall  
preclude an employer from entering into 
an agreement with an employee to not    
share any information 7including after  
the employee is no longer employed by   
the employer7 regarding the employer or 
the employment that is a trade secret1  
as defined in section #ahci of title    
#ah1 ,united ,states ,code4  4  7b7     
,enforcement  7#a7 ,prohibited act      
,section #ae7;a7 of the ,fair ,labor    
,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 
#bae7;a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph
 7#e71 by striking the period at the end
 and inserting a semicolon2 and  7,b7 by
 adding at the end the following3  7#f7 
to violate any of the provisions of     
section #h4  4  7#b7 ,penalties ,section
 #af of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act
 of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #baf7 is       
amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7a71 by    
inserting 1 except that a person        

convicted of a violation of section     
#ae7;a77#f7 shall not be subject to     
imprisonment after or both2  7,b7 in    
subsection 7b71 by inserting ,any       
employer who violates the provisions of 
section #h shall be liable for such     
legal or equitable relief as may be     
appropriate to effectuate the purposes  
of such section4 after the third        
sentence2  7,c7 in subsection 7c71 by   
adding at the end the following3 ,the   
authority and requirements described in 
this subsection shall also apply with   
respect to a violation of section #h1 as
 appropriate1 and the employer shall be 
liable for such legal or equitable      
relief as may be appropriate to         
effectuate the purposes of such         
section42 and  7,d7 in subsection       
7e77#b71 by striking section #f or #g1  
relating to wages1 and inserting section
 #f1 #g1 or #h1 relating to wages or    
non-compete agreements14  7c7           
,conforming amendment ,section #aj of   
the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of     

#aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #baj7 is repealed4 
7d7 ,effective date  7#a7 ,in general   
,the amendments made by this ,act shall 
take effect #ahj days after the date of 
enactment of this ,act4  7#b7           
,applicability ,this ,act1 and the      
amendments made by this ,act1 shall     
apply with respect to any dispute or    
claim for which proceedings commenced on
 or after the effective date described  
in paragraph 7#a74