Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.
HB3213 • 2026
EMPLOYMENT-PROHIBIT COVENANTS
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
EMPLOYMENT-PROHIBIT COVENANTS
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be Adopted Labor & Commerce Committee ; 018-007-000
Fiscal Note Filed
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Labor & Commerce Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Anna Moeller
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred to Rules Committee
Approved for Consideration Rules Committee ; 003-002-000
Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Labor & Commerce Committee
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Anna Moeller
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Labor & Commerce Committee
Second Reading - Short Debate
Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate
Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Lilian Jiménez
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lilian Jiménez
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kevin John Olickal
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Norma Hernandez
Do Pass / Short Debate Labor & Commerce Committee ; 016-003-000
Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Lilian Jiménez
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Laura Faver Dias
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Anne Stava
Assigned to Labor & Commerce Committee
First Reading
Referred to Rules Committee
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Anna Moeller
EMPLOYMENT-PROHIBIT COVENANTS
Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB3213 Select Language × The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein. Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet. The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website. NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window. Choose Language English Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Bengali Bosnian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Interlingua Interlingue Inuktitut Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Khmer Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian Malagasy Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar Nepali Norwegian Odia Pashto Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Sango Sanskrit Sardinian Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Southern Sotho Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tonga Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Close Illinois General Assembly Top Navigation Bar Translate Learn Select General Assembly Search the 104th General Assembly Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules. ILGA.GOV LEGISLATION & LAWS Bills & Resolutions Public Acts Illinois Compiled Statutes Illinois Constitution Search Legislation Glossary Guide Reports & Inquiry Legislative Reports Special Reports FTP Site Legislator Lookup Capitol Complex Phone Numbers Rules & Regulations Illinois Register Administrative Rules Senate Members Schedules Committees Request for Remote Testimony Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information Senate Employment Opportunities Media Guidelines House Members Schedules Committees Submit testimony for House Committees Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information House Employment Opportunities Log In Mobile Top Bar Search the 104th General Assembly Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website. Full Text of HB3213 Home Legislation Full Text HB3213 - 104th General Assembly Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Select Menu Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Printer Friendly Version Introduced House Amendment 001 House Amendment 002 Printer Friendly Version Introduced House Amendment 001 House Amendment 002 Open PDF 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3213 Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Anna Moeller SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 820 ILCS 90/5 820 ILCS 90/10 820 ILCS 90/15 820 ILCS 90/7 rep. 820 ILCS 90/20 rep. 820 ILCS 90/35 rep. Amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act. Provides that, on and after January 1, 2026, no employer shall enter into a covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit with any employee. Provides that a covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit entered into on or after January 1, 2026 is illegal and void regardless of where and when the covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit was entered into. Provides that an employer or former employer shall not attempt to enforce a contract that is void and unenforceable under the Act regardless of whether the contract was signed and the employment was maintained outside of the State. Repeals provisions concerning the legitimate business interest of the employer; ensuring employees are informed about their obligations; and reformation of covenants not to compete and covenants not to solicit. Makes changes to definitions. Makes conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026. LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b A BILL FOR HB3213 LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 AN ACT concerning employment. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Freedom to Work Act is amended by 5 changing Sections 5, 10, and 15 as follows: 6 (820 ILCS 90/5) 7 Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act: 8 "Adequate consideration" means (1) the employee worked for 9 the employer for at least 2 years after the employee signed an 10 agreement containing a covenant not to compete or a covenant 11 not to solicit or (2) the employer otherwise provided 12 consideration adequate to support an agreement to not compete 13 or to not solicit, which consideration can consist of a period 14 of employment plus additional professional or financial 15 benefits or merely professional or financial benefits adequate 16 by themselves. 17 "Covenant not to compete" means an agreement between an 18 employer and an employee that is entered into after the 19 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General 20 Assembly that restricts the employee from performing: 21 (1) any work for another employer for a specified 22 period of time; 23 (2) any work in a specified geographical area; or HB3213 - 2 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 (3) work for another employer that is similar to 2 employee's work for the employer included as a party 3 to the agreement. 4 "Covenant not to compete" also means an agreement between 5 an employer and an employee , entered into after the effective 6 date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, 7 that by its terms imposes adverse financial consequences on 8 the former employee if the employee engages in competitive 9 activities after the termination of the employee's employment 10 with the employer. 11 "Covenant not to compete" does not include (1) a covenant 12 not to solicit, (2) a confidentiality agreement or covenant, 13 (3) a covenant or agreement prohibiting use or disclosure of 14 trade secrets or inventions, (4) invention assignment 15 agreements or covenants, (5) a covenant or agreement entered 16 into by a person purchasing or selling the goodwill of a 17 business or otherwise acquiring or disposing of an ownership 18 interest, (6) clauses or an agreement between an employer and 19 an employee requiring advance notice of termination of 20 employment, during which notice period the employee remains 21 employed by the employer and receives compensation, or (7) 22 agreements by which the employee agrees not to reapply for 23 employment to the same employer after termination of the 24 employee. 25 "Covenant not to solicit" means an agreement that is 26 entered into after the effective date of this amendatory Act HB3213 - 3 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 of the 102nd General Assembly between an employer and an 2 employee that (1) restricts the employee from soliciting for 3 employment the employer's employees or (2) restricts the 4 employee from soliciting, for the purpose of selling products 5 or services of any kind to, or from interfering with the 6 employer's relationships with, the employer's clients, 7 prospective clients, vendors, prospective vendors, suppliers, 8 prospective suppliers, or other business relationships. 9 "Earnings" means the compensation, including earned 10 salary, earned bonuses, earned commissions, or any other form 11 of taxable compensation, reflected or that is expected to be 12 reflected as wages, tips, and other compensation on the 13 employee's IRS Form W-2 plus any elective deferrals not 14 reflected as wages, tips, and other compensation on the 15 employee's IRS Form W-2, such as, without limitation, employee 16 contributions to a 401(k) plan, a 403(b) plan, a flexible 17 spending account, or a health savings account, or commuter 18 benefit-related deductions. 19 "Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an 20 employer in an occupation. 21 "Employer" has the meaning given to such term in 22 subsection (c) of Section 3 of the Minimum Wage Law. 23 "Employer" does not include governmental or quasi-governmental 24 bodies. 25 "Construction" means any constructing, altering, 26 reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing, HB3213 - 4 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom 2 fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking, 3 painting, decorating, demolishing, and adding to or 4 subtracting from any building, structure, highway, roadway, 5 street, bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, 6 water works, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other 7 structure, project, development, real property or improvement, 8 or to do any part thereof, whether or not the performance of 9 the work herein described involves the addition to, or 10 fabrication into, any structure, project, development, real 11 property or improvement herein described of any material or 12 article of merchandise. 13 (Source: P.A. 102-358, eff. 1-1-22 .) 14 (820 ILCS 90/10) 15 Sec. 10. Prohibiting covenants not to compete and 16 covenants not to solicit. 17 (a) Before January 1, 2026, no No employer shall enter 18 into a covenant not to compete with any employee unless the 19 employee's actual or expected annualized rate of earnings 20 exceeds $75,000 per year. On and after January 1, 2026, no 21 employer shall enter into a covenant not to compete with any 22 employee. This amount shall increase to $80,000 per year 23 beginning on January 1, 2027, $85,000 per year beginning on 24 January 1, 2032, and $90,000 per year beginning on January 1, 25 2037. A covenant not to compete entered into in violation of HB3213 - 5 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 this subsection is void and unenforceable. 2 (b) Before January 1, 2026, no No employer shall enter 3 into a covenant not to solicit with any employee unless the 4 employee's actual or expected annualized rate of earnings 5 exceeds $45,000 per year. On and after January 1, 2026, no 6 employer shall enter into a covenant not to solicit with any 7 employee. This amount shall increase to $47,500 per year 8 beginning on January 1, 2027, $50,000 per year beginning on 9 January 1, 2032, and $52,500 per year beginning on January 1, 10 2037. A covenant not to solicit entered into in violation of 11 this subsection is void and unenforceable. 12 (c) (Blank). No employer shall enter into a covenant not 13 to compete or a covenant not to solicit with any employee who 14 an employer terminates or furloughs or lays off as the result 15 of business circumstances or governmental orders related to 16 the COVID-19 pandemic or under circumstances that are similar 17 to the COVID-19 pandemic, unless enforcement of the covenant 18 not to compete includes compensation equivalent to the 19 employee's base salary at the time of termination for the 20 period of enforcement minus compensation earned through 21 subsequent employment during the period of enforcement. A 22 covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit entered 23 into in violation of this subsection is void and 24 unenforceable. 25 (d) A covenant not to compete is void and illegal with 26 respect to individuals covered by a collective bargaining HB3213 - 6 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 agreement under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or the 2 Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. 3 (e) A covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit 4 is void and illegal with respect to individuals employed in 5 construction, regardless of whether an individual is covered 6 by a collective bargaining agreement. This subsection (e) does 7 not apply to construction employees who primarily perform 8 management, engineering or architectural, design, or sales 9 functions for the employer or who are shareholders, partners, 10 or owners in any capacity of the employer. 11 (f) (e) Any covenant not to compete or covenant not to 12 solicit entered into after January 1, 2025 ( the effective date 13 of Public Act 103-915) this amendatory Act of the 103rd 14 General Assembly shall not be enforceable with respect to the 15 provision of mental health services to veterans and first 16 responders by any licensed mental health professional in this 17 State if the enforcement of the covenant not to compete or 18 covenant not to solicit is likely to result in an increase in 19 cost or difficulty for any veteran or first responder seeking 20 mental health services. 21 For the purpose of this subsection: 22 "First responders" means emergency medical services 23 personnel, as defined in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) 24 Systems Act, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. 25 "Licensed mental health professional" means a person 26 licensed under the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act, the HB3213 - 7 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act, the 2 Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Act, the Nurse Practice 3 Act, or the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional 4 Counselor Licensing and Practice Act. 5 (Source: P.A. 102-358, eff. 1-1-22; 103-915, eff. 1-1-25; 6 103-921, eff. 1-1-25; revised 11-26-24.) 7 (820 ILCS 90/15) 8 Sec. 15. Enforceability of a covenant not to compete or a 9 covenant not to solicit. 10 (a) A covenant not to compete or a covenant not to solicit 11 entered into on or after January 1, 2026 is illegal and void 12 regardless of where and when the covenant not to compete or a 13 covenant not to solicit was entered into unless (1) the 14 employee receives adequate consideration, (2) the covenant is 15 ancillary to a valid employment relationship, (3) the covenant 16 is no greater than is required for the protection of a 17 legitimate business interest of the employer, (4) the covenant 18 does not impose undue hardship on the employee, and (5) the 19 covenant is not injurious to the public . 20 (b) An employer or former employer shall not attempt to 21 enforce a contract that is void and unenforceable under this 22 Act regardless of whether the contract was signed and the 23 employment was maintained outside of this State. 24 (Source: P.A. 102-358, eff. 1-1-22 .) HB3213 - 8 - LRB104 08712 SPS 18766 b 1 (820 ILCS 90/7 rep.) 2 (820 ILCS 90/20 rep.) 3 (820 ILCS 90/35 rep.) 4 Section 10. The Illinois Freedom to Work Act is amended by 5 repealing Sections 7, 20, and 35. 6 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 7 1, 2026. Footer Disclaimer This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn