Massachusetts non-compete law: M.G.L. c. 149, § 24L for recruiters

Massachusetts does not ban non-competes. It regulates them closely. The Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, M.G.L. c. 149, § 24L, applies to employee non-competes entered into on or after October 1, 2018, and sets rules on when the agreement must be handed over, how long it can last, what it must pay during the restricted period, and who cannot be bound at all. For recruiters, it is the state where timing at the offer stage matters most: a new-hire non-compete delivered too late fails the statute's requirements, and the person you are recruiting away may be in a category the law protects outright.

General screening questions are in non-compete questions for candidates. The agency and client clauses that § 24L does not reach are in non-solicitation clauses for recruiters.

What the Act covers

Section 24L defines a noncompetition agreement as one under which the employee agrees not to engage in specified activities competitive with the employer after the employment ends. It includes "forfeiture for competition" agreements. It does not include, among other things:

• covenants not to solicit or hire employees of the employer;
• covenants not to solicit or transact business with customers, clients or vendors;
• covenants made in the sale of a business by a significant owner who receives significant consideration;
• nondisclosure, confidentiality and invention assignment agreements;
• garden leave clauses;
• separation agreements, if the employee is expressly given seven business days to rescind; and
• agreements not to reapply for employment with the same employer.

"Employee" includes independent contractors under section 148B. Section 71 of chapter 228 of the Acts of 2018 says the section applies to "employee noncompetition agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018."

The minimum requirements

Who cannot be bound

Under § 24L(c), a noncompetition agreement is not enforceable against:

• employees classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
• undergraduate or graduate students in an internship or other short-term employment while enrolled;
• employees terminated without cause or laid off; and
• employees age 18 or younger.

The second-to-last category matters to recruiters more than any other. Someone recently laid off who signed a Massachusetts non-compete is in a category the statute names. That is still for counsel to confirm, because whether a departure was "without cause" can be disputed, but it is a fact worth capturing: ask how the candidate's last job ended only if they have already left and only as far as it bears on the agreement.

Choice of law and venue

Section 24L(e) says no choice-of-law provision that would avoid the section's requirements is enforceable if the employee is, and has been for at least 30 days before leaving, a resident of or employed in Massachusetts when employment ends. Under § 24L(f), civil actions about covered agreements must be brought in the county where the employee lives or, if both sides agree, in Suffolk County, where the superior court or its business litigation session has exclusive jurisdiction.

Section 24L(d) also lets a court reform or revise an agreement to make it enforceable to the extent needed to protect legitimate interests. That is one reason a recruiter should never call a Massachusetts covenant "too broad to stand": a court may simply narrow it.

When your client is the Massachusetts employer

The timing rule lands on the offer process. If a Massachusetts client wants a non-compete from the person you are placing, the agreement has to reach the candidate by the formal offer, or 10 business days before the start date if that is earlier, with the right-to-counsel statement. Confirm that on the offer call rather than letting it arrive with first-day paperwork. If the role is FLSA nonexempt, the client cannot enforce a non-compete against that person at all under § 24L(c).

While you are discussing pay with a Massachusetts candidate, remember the state's salary history ban; see the Massachusetts salary history ban guide. You do not need a candidate's current salary to talk about garden leave terms in an agreement they already have.

Four facts that change the answer

Most Massachusetts questions come down to four facts, and a recruiter can collect each of them without asking for anything confidential:

1. The signing date. Before October 1, 2018, § 24L does not apply and earlier case law governs. On or after it, the statutory requirements apply.
2. When the agreement arrived. With the formal offer, or at least 10 business days before the start date, versus on the first day or later. A mid-employment agreement also needs separate consideration and 10 business days' notice.
3. Exempt or nonexempt. An FLSA nonexempt employee cannot be held to a covered non-compete.
4. How the job ended, if it has. Terminated without cause or laid off is one of the protected categories.

Write each down as the candidate states it, and let the hiring company's counsel decide what follows. Two candidates with identical clauses can be in very different positions because of these four facts.

Screening a Massachusetts candidate

MASSACHUSETTS CANDIDATE — restrictive agreements

1. "Have you signed a non-compete, a non-solicit, or a confidentiality
    agreement that could affect this role?"
2. "When did you sign it? Was it with your offer, before you started,
    or later?"
3. "Does it mention garden leave or payment during the restricted
    period?"
4. "How long does it run after you leave, and what does it cover?"
5. "Are you paid hourly with overtime, or salaried exempt?"
6. "Could you share it with the hiring company's lawyer, as far as
    it allows?"
Always: "We don't want any confidential information or client lists
from your current employer."

• Do not ask for the garden leave dollar amount; it reveals pay. The agreement itself can go to counsel.
• Do not tell the candidate the employer "won't bother" paying garden leave to enforce it. Some employers do.
• Do keep non-solicits separate in your notes; § 24L does not govern them.

Agencies and their own recruiters

An agency with Massachusetts recruiters is an employer under § 24L like any other. A non-compete for a new recruiter needs to arrive by the formal offer or 10 business days before the start date, with the right-to-counsel statement and garden leave or other specified consideration. Client non-solicits and no-hire terms are outside the Act's definition, so those are reviewed under general contract law instead.

Federal status

As of October 2026 there is no federal non-compete ban. The FTC's Noncompete Rule page records the August 20, 2024 court order; the Commission voted on September 5, 2025 to accede to the vacatur; and a February 12, 2026 Federal Register notice removed the rule from the Code of Federal Regulations. Individual enforcement continues, as in the FTC's April 2026 Rollins order.

Checklist

• Signing date captured; pre-October 2018 agreements flagged as outside § 24L.
• Timing of delivery and the right-to-counsel statement noted as facts.
• Exempt or nonexempt status and, where relevant, how employment ended, noted.
• Non-solicits recorded separately.
• Client's own non-compete delivered with the formal offer or 10 business days before start, whichever is earlier.
• Section 24L re-checked before relying on this page; licensing in the Massachusetts staffing agency license guide.