Washington, D.C. — Following the Rhode Island legislature’s passage of a bill on Thursday that would ban restrictive noncompete agreements, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“Rhode Island lawmakers took a monumental step for worker mobility and innovation by passing a ban on noncompetes,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Rhode island workers, business owners, and consumers will all be better off thanks to this bill, which will ensure that corporations can’t unfairly use their power to restrict employees and push down wages. We’re thankful for Sen. Matthew LaMountain and Rep. Jacquelyn Baginski’s leadership to get this bill across the finish line, and urge the governor to quickly sign it into law.”

Earlier this week, Economic Liberties released a policy roadmap for state lawmakers to compliment federal regulation to end these exploitative practices. Following the FTC’s final and widely-celebrated final rule to ban noncompete clauses in April, the brief explains the compelling reasons for state action on the issue. State laws can be more broadly applicable and enforceable than federal rules, and more durable against challenges by activist judges. Furthermore, noncompete clauses are not the only tool used by employers to restrict workers’ ability to seek better pay and improved conditions. Other tools include training repayment agreement provisions, or “TRAPs,” which subject workers to thousands of dollars in debt for basic on-the-job training if they quit their jobs. As noncompetes face greater scrutiny under the FTC rule, employers will increasingly turn to such “de-facto noncompetes.”

Read Economic Liberties’ latest brief, “Better Wages and Working Conditions,” here.

Learn more about the state-by-state wage increase effect of the noncompete ban here. 

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.