Prohibits noncompete agreements except for noncompete agreements between a seller and buyer of a business; creates civil action for an employer for the violation of an agreement by employee regarding disclosure or wrongful utilization of trade secrets.

Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act – Plain English Summary

This bill would largely ban "noncompete agreements" in Rhode Island. A noncompete agreement is a contract that prevents an employee from working for a competitor or starting a competing business after they leave a job. Under this bill, those kinds of agreements would no longer be enforceable — with one main exception: if someone sells their business, the buyer could still require the seller to sign a noncompete to protect their investment in the purchase.

The bill affects workers and employers across Rhode Island. For workers, it means they would generally be free to leave a job and work for a competitor, start their own competing business, or simply move on in their career without being legally restricted by a contract they signed with a former employer. For employers, it means they could no longer use noncompete agreements as a tool to limit where their former employees can work.

However, the bill does not leave employers without any protections. Employers can still have employees sign agreements to protect trade secrets — confidential business information like customer lists, proprietary processes, or other sensitive data. If an employee breaks one of those agreements by disclosing or misusing trade secrets, the employer would have the right to sue them in civil court.

In short, this bill aims to give Rhode Island workers more freedom to change jobs and pursue new opportunities, while still allowing businesses to legally protect their genuinely confidential information through separate agreements.