RCW 49.62 is Washington’s noncompete statute, and it sets some of the tightest limits in the country on when an employer can stop a worker from taking a new job or starting a competing business. The law took effect January 1, 2020, and it covers both employees and independent contractors. In short: a noncompete signed in Washington is void unless the worker earns above a yearly income floor, the restriction lasts no more than eighteen months, the employer disclosed the terms in writing by the time of the job offer, and — if the worker is laid off — the employer keeps paying them during the restricted period.
The Earnings Floor Comes First
The threshold question under RCW 49.62 is whether the worker makes enough money for a noncompete to be enforceable at all. For 2026:
- Employees must earn at least $126,858.83 in annualized earnings from the employer trying to enforce the agreement.
- Independent contractors must earn at least $317,147.09 from the hiring party trying to enforce it.
If the worker’s compensation sits below the applicable number at the time enforcement is attempted, the noncompete is void. No judicial discretion, no exceptions.1Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Non-Compete Agreements The contractor figure runs roughly two and a half times the employee figure, reflecting the legislature’s view that restricting a contractor’s ability to seek work demands a higher justification.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.030 – Noncompetition Covenants Independent Contractors
The Department of Labor & Industries adjusts both numbers every year using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, measured over the twelve months ending each September 1.3Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Higher Wages, New Tower Crane Rules in Store for 2026 Check the current year’s figure before relying on it.
Eighteen Months Is the Practical Ceiling
Even when the earnings test is met, duration matters. Under RCW 49.62.020, any noncompete longer than eighteen months is presumed unreasonable and unenforceable, and the employer carries the burden of overcoming that presumption.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62 – Noncompetition Covenants Full Chapter In practice, enforceable Washington noncompetes top out at twelve to eighteen months. A two-year restriction is a steep uphill fight for the employer.
Disclosure at Hire, Fresh Consideration Mid-Employment
Washington employers have to put the terms of a noncompete in front of the worker in writing no later than the time the worker accepts the offer of employment. Fail that, and the covenant is void.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.020 – When Void and Unenforceable Handing a noncompete to a new hire after they’ve already resigned from a prior job or declined other offers kills the agreement.
If the noncompete is designed to kick in only later — for example, because the worker’s pay could rise above the threshold down the road — the employer has to specifically disclose that possibility at the time of hire.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62 – Noncompetition Covenants Full Chapter
Asking a current employee to sign a noncompete partway through the job is a different situation. The employer must provide independent consideration — something of real value beyond keeping the job the worker already has. A meaningful raise, a bona fide promotion, or a lump-sum bonus can satisfy it. Continued employment alone cannot.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.020 – When Void and Unenforceable
Laid Off? The Employer Has to Keep Paying You
This provision catches a lot of employers off guard. If a worker is terminated as part of a layoff, the noncompete is void unless the employer compensates them during the entire restriction period. The required payment equals the employee’s base salary at the time of termination, reduced by whatever the employee earns from a new job during the restricted window.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62 – Noncompetition Covenants Full Chapter
So if an employer lays you off and wants to hold you to a twelve-month noncompete, they effectively have to pay your base salary for those twelve months, net of any new earnings you bring in. An employer that lays someone off and makes no such payments cannot enforce the restriction, regardless of what the signed agreement says.
Side Jobs Below Twice the State Average Wage
RCW 49.62.070 adds a separate protection for workers who want to hold a second job, freelance, or run a side business. Employers cannot restrict that kind of supplemental work if the employee earns less than twice the state average annual wage, a figure the Department of Labor & Industries publishes each year.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.070 – Employees Having an Additional Job When Authorized This covers any contract clause that tries to stop a below-threshold employee from taking additional work as an employee, as a contractor, or in self-employment.
What RCW 49.62 Does Not Cover
Several common restrictive agreements sit outside the statute’s definition of a noncompetition covenant, and they do not have to clear the earnings floor or the eighteen-month cap:7Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62 – Noncompetition Covenants
- Nonsolicitation agreements covering the employer’s clients or employees.
- Confidentiality agreements.
- Covenants protecting trade secrets or inventions, which are governed by separate law.
- Noncompetes tied to the sale of a business ownership interest or goodwill.
- Noncompetes between a franchisee and a franchisor.
Employers often bundle several of these into one agreement. Striking down the noncompete piece does not necessarily take the nonsolicit or confidentiality clauses with it.
Out-of-State Court and Choice-of-Law Clauses Don’t Work
RCW 49.62.050 blocks a common workaround. A provision requiring a Washington employee or contractor to litigate a noncompete dispute outside Washington is void, and so is a choice-of-law clause whose effect would be to strip the worker of RCW 49.62’s protections.8Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.050 – Unenforceable Provisions A multistate employer cannot draft under Delaware or Texas law and route disputes there to escape Washington’s rules.
What You Get If the Employer Violates the Statute
When a court or arbitrator finds that a noncompete violates RCW 49.62 — including cases where the court merely rewrites or partially enforces an overbroad covenant — the employer must pay the worker the greater of actual damages or a $5,000 statutory penalty, plus reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and costs.9Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62.080 – Violation of This Chapter Relief Remedies
The fee-shifting piece is often the more consequential half. Challenging a noncompete is expensive, and the ability to recover legal costs from a losing employer makes it realistic for an individual worker to push back. The Washington Attorney General also has independent authority to bring enforcement actions on behalf of aggrieved workers.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 49.62 – Noncompetition Covenants Full Chapter10Washington State Attorney General. Labor and Antitrust
If you’ve been handed a noncompete in Washington, run through the checklist in order: your earnings against the current threshold, the length of the restriction, when the agreement was first put in writing, and — if you were let go — whether the employer is paying you through the restricted period. A no answer on any one of them is often enough to make the agreement unenforceable.