Wyoming non-compete law: W.S. 1-23-108 for recruiters
On this page
- What does W.S. 1-23-108 say?
- What are the open questions in the exceptions?
- What does the physician rule add?
- An example of how the dates and exceptions combine
- What about agreements signed before July 1, 2025?
- What is the risk to the hiring company?
- What should a recruiter ask a Wyoming candidate?
- When your client is the Wyoming employer
- Is there a federal rule on top of Wyoming's?
- Wyoming checklist
- Questions people ask
Wyoming went from having no non-compete statute to a broad statutory ban in 2025. As of October 2026, W.S. 1-23-108 makes void any covenant not to compete that restricts a person's right to be paid "for performance of skilled or unskilled labor," for contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025. Four exceptions survive: the sale of a business, protection of trade secrets, limited repayment of relocation and training costs, and executive and management personnel and their professional staff. A separate subsection voids covenants that stop a physician practicing medicine after leaving. Agreements signed before July 1, 2025 are still judged under case law, and since 2022 Wyoming courts no longer rewrite an unreasonable one; they void it.
General screening questions are in non-compete questions for candidates, agency-side clauses in non-solicitation clauses for recruiters, and the state's other hiring rules in hiring employees in Wyoming.
Not legal advice. This summarizes W.S. 1-23-108 as published by the Wyoming Legislature, Senate File 107 of the 2025 General Session, and the Legislative Service Office's summary of Hassler v. Circle C Resources, as of October 2026. Whether an agreement holds depends on its wording and the facts.
What does W.S. 1-23-108 say?
Senate File 107 (Enrolled Act 87, Chapter 170 of the 2025 Session Laws), signed by the Governor on March 19, 2025 according to the bill digest, created the section. Subsection (a) says: "Any covenant not to compete that restricts the right of any person to receive compensation for performance of skilled or unskilled labor shall be void." The act applies to contracts entered into on and after July 1, 2025, and says nothing in it alters "any contract or agreement entered into before July 1, 2025." The compiled Title 1 published by the Legislature shows the section unchanged since then.
| Covenant | Status for contracts from July 1, 2025 | Subsection |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary employee non-compete | Void | (a) |
| Sale of a business or its assets | Allowed | (a)(i) |
| Protection of trade secrets (as defined in W.S. 6-3-501(a)(xi)) | Allowed "to the extent the covenant provides for the protection of trade secrets" | (a)(ii) |
| Repayment of relocation, education and training costs | Allowed on a sliding scale: up to 100% if the employee served less than two years, 66% for two to under three years, 33% for three to under four years | (a)(iii) |
| Executive and management personnel, and officers and employees who are their professional staff | Allowed (terms not defined in the statute) | (a)(iv) |
| Physicians: a covenant in an employment, partnership or corporate agreement "between physicians" restricting practice after the relationship ends | Void; the rest of the agreement stays enforceable | (b) |
What are the open questions in the exceptions?
- "Executive and management personnel." The statute does not define it, or "professional staff" to them. A store manager, a regional sales manager and a chief of staff could all argue either way. Record the candidate's title, reporting line and whether they manage others, and let counsel decide.
- "To the extent" trade secrets are protected. The exception is not a blanket pass for anyone who saw confidential information. It saves a covenant only as far as it protects trade secrets as the criminal code defines them.
- Non-solicitation. The section talks about covenants not to compete and does not mention customer or employee non-solicits. Whether a particular non-solicit is a "covenant not to compete" under it is for counsel.
- Training repayment is money, not a restriction. The sliding scale limits what an employer may claw back; it does not let the employer stop the person working elsewhere.
What does the physician rule add?
Subsection (b) voids any covenant in an employment, partnership or corporate agreement "between physicians" that restricts a physician's right to practice medicine after the relationship ends, while keeping the rest of the agreement enforceable. Subsection (c) lets a departing physician tell a patient with a rare disorder (as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders) whom they were treating about their continuing practice and new contact information, and says neither the physician nor the physician's employer is liable to a party to the prior agreement for damages from the disclosure or the later treatment.
Note the words "between physicians." Whether subsection (b) reaches a physician's contract with a hospital or a company that is not itself a physician practice is a drafting question the statute does not answer directly; for a physician candidate, send the agreement to counsel rather than assuming either way.
An example of how the dates and exceptions combine
Example only. Three Casper candidates each mention a one-year non-compete:
- A field technician who signed in March 2025. The agreement predates July 1, 2025, so the statute does not apply; common law and Hassler do, and an unreasonable term could void the whole covenant.
- A field technician who signed a new agreement in September 2025. Unless an exception fits, the covenant is void under subsection (a). A training repayment clause in the same agreement may still apply within the sliding scale.
- A regional operations director who signed in September 2025. The executive and management exception may apply, and counsel will look at the role and the reasonableness of the terms.
What about agreements signed before July 1, 2025?
They fall under Wyoming case law. A 2022 Legislative Service Office memo summarizes it: a non-compete is enforceable if it is "(1) in writing; (2) part of a contract of employment; (3) based on reasonable consideration; (4) reasonable in durational and geographical limitations; and (5) not against public policy," the test from Hopper v. All Pet Animal Clinic.
The memo then explains Hassler v. Circle C Resources, 2022 WY 28. A trial court had cut a caregiver's 24-month, seven-county non-compete down to 12 months and two counties and enforced it. The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed, overruled Hopper's adoption of the blue pencil rule, held that it was not the courts' role to redraft unreasonable agreements, and found the agreement unreasonable on its face and void. For a recruiter, that means an older Wyoming non-compete with an overbroad term is at more risk of failing entirely than one in a state whose courts trim agreements down.
What is the risk to the hiring company?
Even where a non-compete is void, a former employer can pursue trade secret and confidentiality claims, and the trade secret exception means some covenants survive in part. A candidate who leaves with customer files or pricing data can cause a problem for the new employer that W.S. 1-23-108 does not solve. Keep the "bring nothing with you" instruction in every screen, and tell the client about any agreement before an offer rather than after.
What should a recruiter ask a Wyoming candidate?
WYOMING CANDIDATE: restrictive agreements
1. "Have you signed a non-compete, a non-solicit, a training
repayment agreement, or a confidentiality agreement?"
2. "When did you sign it: before or after July 1, 2025? Was it
renewed or replaced since?"
3. "What is your title, and do you manage people or sit on the
leadership team's staff?"
4. "If there's a training or relocation repayment clause, how long
have you been there, and what does it say you'd repay?"
5. "Was it part of selling a business or an ownership stake?"
6. "Are you a physician?"
7. "Could the hiring company's lawyer see it, as far as it allows?"
Always: "We don't want any confidential information, documents or
client lists from your current employer."- Do not tell a candidate "Wyoming banned non-competes." It voided most of them for contracts from July 1, 2025, with exceptions, and left older ones to case law.
- Do not decide whether the candidate is "management." Record the facts.
- Do note repayment amounts and tenure. A sign-on bonus or relocation package from the new employer may be planned around them.
When your client is the Wyoming employer
Offer templates written before July 2025 may still carry a standard non-compete for every hire. For contracts entered into since July 1, 2025, that clause is void for anyone outside the exceptions, so raise it with the client before the offer goes out. A client that wants training repayment should match the 100, 66 and 33 percent scale, and a client that relies on the executive exception should have counsel confirm the role fits. The offer call script is the place to confirm what the candidate will sign; agency licensing is in the Wyoming staffing agency license guide.
Is there a federal rule on top of Wyoming's?
No. The FTC's 2024 rule was set aside in court; the Commission voted on September 5, 2025 to accept the vacatur, and a February 12, 2026 notice removed it from the Code of Federal Regulations. Wyoming's neighbors take different approaches; see the Utah and Colorado pages.
Wyoming checklist
- Restrictive-agreement question asked of every candidate for the role, in the same words.
- Signing and renewal dates recorded against July 1, 2025.
- Title, reporting line and management duties recorded for the executive exception.
- Training or relocation repayment terms and tenure noted.
- Physician roles flagged for subsection (b).
- No opinion given on enforceability; the candidate pointed to their own lawyer.
- Client's offer template checked for a blanket non-compete before the offer.
Questions people ask
Are non-compete agreements legal in Wyoming?
Mostly not, for contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025. W.S. 1-23-108 makes void any covenant not to compete that restricts a person's right to be paid for skilled or unskilled labor, except in the sale of a business, to the extent it protects trade secrets, for limited repayment of relocation and training costs, and for executive and management personnel and their professional staff.
Who can still sign a non-compete in Wyoming?
The statute keeps non-competes available for executive and management personnel and officers and employees who constitute professional staff to executive and management personnel, for sellers of a business, and to the extent a covenant protects trade secrets. The statute does not define executive and management personnel, so whether a particular job qualifies is a question for counsel.
Can a Wyoming employer make an employee repay training costs?
Within limits. W.S. 1-23-108 allows a contract provision recovering relocation, education and training expenses of up to 100 percent for an employee who leaves within two years, up to 66 percent between two and three years, and up to 33 percent between three and four years.
Will a Wyoming court narrow an overbroad non-compete?
No longer. In Hassler v. Circle C Resources (2022), the Wyoming Supreme Court overruled its earlier adoption of the blue pencil rule and held that an agreement with unreasonable terms was void as against public policy, rather than rewriting it. That decision governs agreements judged under common law, such as those signed before July 1, 2025.