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AB567 • 2025

covenants not to compete in employment contracts

covenants not to compete in employment contracts

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representatives Bare, Udell, Anderson, Andraca, Arney, Brown, Clancy, DeSmidt, Fitzgerald, Hong, Joers, Kirsch, Madison, Mayadev, McCarville, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Palmeri, Phelps, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sheehan, Snodgrass, Stroud, Stubbs, Subeck and Tenorio, cosponsored by Senators Larson, Carpenter, Wall, Spreitzer, Wirch, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys and Smith
Last action
2026-03-23
Official status
A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

covenants not to compete in employment contracts

covenants not to compete in employment contracts Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

What This Bill Does

  • covenants not to compete in employment contracts Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-23 Asm.

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. 2026-02-09 Asm.

    Representative J. Jacobson added as a coauthor

  3. 2025-11-11 Asm.

    Representative Johnson added as a coauthor

  4. 2025-11-11 Asm.

    Representative Sinicki added as a coauthor

  5. 2025-10-24 Asm.

    Introduced by Representatives Bare , Udell , Anderson , Andraca , Arney , Brown , Clancy , DeSmidt , Fitzgerald , Hong , Joers , Kirsch , Madison , Mayadev , McCarville , Miresse , Moore Omokunde , Palmeri , Phelps , Rivera-Wagner , Roe , Sheehan , Snodgrass , Stroud , Stubbs , Subeck and Tenorio ; cosponsored by Senators Larson , Carpenter , Wall , Spreitzer , Wirch , Habush Sinykin , Hesselbein , Pfaff , Ratcliff , Roys and Smith

  6. 2025-10-24 Asm.

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Official Summary Text

covenants not to compete in employment contracts
Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: AB567: Bill Text

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2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
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AB567: Bill Text

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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-0224/1
MIM:amn
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 567
October 24, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives
Bare
,
Udell
,
Anderson
,
Andraca
,
Arney
,
Brown
,
Clancy
,
DeSmidt
,
Fitzgerald
,
Hong
,
Joers
,
Kirsch
,
Madison
,
Mayadev
,
McCarville
,
Miresse
,
Moore Omokunde
,
Palmeri
,
Phelps
,
Rivera-Wagner
,
Roe
,
Sheehan
,
Snodgrass
,
Stroud
,
Stubbs
,
Subeck
and
Tenorio
, cosponsored by Senators
Larson
,
Carpenter
,
Wall
,
Spreitzer
,
Wirch
,
Habush Sinykin
,
Hesselbein
,
Pfaff
,
Ratcliff
,
Roys
and
Smith
. Referred to Committee on Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment.
AB567,1,3
1
An Act

to renumber and amend
103.465;
to amend
103.465 (title);
to create

2
103.465 (1m) and 103.465 (3) and (4) of the statutes;
relating to:
covenants
3
not to compete in employment contracts.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a restrictive covenant in an employment contract that prohibits an assistant, servant, or agent from competing with his or her employer or principal during the term of the employment or agency, or after the termination of the employment or agency, within a specified territory and during a specified time is lawful and enforceable if the restrictions imposed are reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer or principal. Such a covenant that imposes an unreasonable restraint is illegal, void, and unenforceable even as to any part of the covenant or performance that would be a reasonable restraint.
This bill makes most such covenants illegal, void, and unenforceable after the termination of employment or agency. A nondisclosure agreement related to personal information of the employer or principal or the customers of the employer or principal or a restrictive covenant prohibiting the unauthorized use by a former employee or agent of a customer list or intellectual property owned or licensed by the employer or principal is not illegal, void, or unenforceable under the bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB567,1
1
Section
1
.
103.465 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB567,2,3
2
103.465
(title)
Restrictive covenants

Covenants not to compete
in
3
employment contracts.
AB567,2
4
Section
2
.
103.465 of the statutes is renumbered 103.465 (2) and amended to
5
read:
AB567,2,14
6
103.465
(2)

Covenants in employment contracts not to compete while
7
employed.

A

covenant by an assistant, servant
, employee,
or agent not to compete
8
with his or her employer or principal during the term of the employment or agency
,
9
or after the termination of that employment or agency,
within a specified territory
10
and during a specified time is lawful and enforceable only if the restrictions
11
imposed are reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer or principal.
12
Any covenant, described in this
section, imposing

subsection, that imposes
an
13
unreasonable restraint
on trade
is illegal, void
,
and unenforceable even as to any
14
part of the covenant or performance that would be a reasonable restraint
on trade
.
AB567,3
15
Section
3
.
103.465 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB567,2,16
16
103.465
(1m)

Definitions.
In this section:
AB567,2,19
17
(a) “Copyright” means a work of authorship, including writings, music, and
18
works of art, that has been tangibly expressed and that is protected by the federal
19
Copyright Act,
17 USC 101
to
1332
, or common law.
AB567,2,22
20
(b) “Customer list” means any information about a customer that is not
21
available to a competitor of an employer or principal, including personal
22
information and past purchases of goods or services from the employer or principal.
AB567,3,2
1
(c) “Intellectual property” means copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade
2
secrets, and any other type of commonly recognized intellectual property.
AB567,3,5
3
(d) “Nondisclosure agreement” means a written agreement or provision that
4
prohibits the disclosure of personal information about an employer or principal or a
5
customer of an employer or principal.
AB567,3,6
6
(e) “Patent” means a right to an invention protected under
35 USC 251
to
329
.
AB567,3,7
7
(f) “Trade secret” has the meaning given in s. 134.90 (1) (c).
AB567,4
8
Section
4
.
103.465 (3) and (4) of the statutes are created to read:
AB567,3,17
9
103.465
(3)

Covenants in employment contracts not to compete after
10
termination of employment or agency.
A covenant by an assistant, servant,
11
employee, or agent not to compete with his or her employer or principal after the
12
termination of the employment or agency imposes an unreasonable restraint on
13
trade and is illegal, void, and unenforceable even as to any part of the covenant that
14
would be a reasonable restraint on trade. This subsection does not apply to a
15
nondisclosure agreement or to a covenant not to compete that is limited to
16
prohibiting or restricting the unauthorized use of a customer list or intellectual
17
property owned or licensed by the employer or principal.
AB567,4,2
18
(4)
Notice posted.
Each employer and principal shall post, in one or more
19
conspicuous places where notices to assistants, servants, employees, and agents are
20
customarily posted, and in a conspicuous place on the employer’s or principal’s
21
website, if the employer or principal maintains a website, a notice in a form
22
approved by the department that explains that covenants not to compete after
1
termination of employment or agency, subject to the exceptions in sub. (3), are an
2
unreasonable restraint on trade and are illegal, void, and unenforceable.
AB567,5
3
Section
5
. Initial applicability.
AB567,4,6
4
(
1
)
Covenant not to compete in employment contracts.
This act first
5
applies to a covenant not to compete that is entered into, extended, modified, or
6
renewed on the effective date of this subsection.
AB567,4,7
7
(end)

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