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DC has one of the most restrictive non-compete frameworks in the country, and most employers in the District are still operating with employment templates that do not reflect the current rules. The Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 was scaled back through the Non-Compete Clarification Amendment Act of 2022, codified at D.C. Code § 32-581.01 et seq., which took effect October 1, 2022. As of 2026, the law has been operational for more than three years, and any DC employer that has not updated its non-compete templates, notice procedures, and policy documents since the original transition deadline is exposing itself to enforcement risk that a Washington DC business law attorney would identify in any compliance review.
The framework is genuinely employer-friendly compared to the 2020 version, but still strict enough that compliance requires deliberate attention.
What employers can still do
The 2022 amendment preserved several categories of restrictive covenants and workplace policies that remain available:
- Confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions. Employers can prohibit both disclosure and use of confidential and proprietary information during and after employment.
- Non-solicitation of customers. Reasonable customer non-solicits remain enforceable when properly drafted.
- Non-solicitation of employees. Anti-poaching provisions covering former colleagues remain available.
- Non-competes for highly compensated employees and medical specialists who meet the salary threshold and procedural requirements.
- Anti-moonlighting and conflicts-of-interest policies that apply during employment, not after.
- Trade secret protections under the DC Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.
- Restrictive covenants tied to the sale of a business, which fall outside the Act’s scope when properly structured.
The 2022 amendment also clarified that workplace policies governing outside work during employment are not non-competes, provided they are limited to active employment.
The 2026 salary threshold
The Act’s “highly compensated employee” definition is indexed to the Consumer Price Index for the Washington metropolitan area. The 2026 figures:
- General highly compensated employees: $162,164 in total annual compensation
- Medical specialists (licensed physicians who have completed residency): $270,274
Total compensation includes base salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and vested stock. It does not include non-cash fringe benefits like health insurance. An employee whose total compensation in the 12 months before the proposed non-compete period falls below the threshold cannot be bound by a non-compete, period.
The verbatim notice and 14-day requirement
This is where most employers stumble. The Act requires the employer to provide the non-compete to a highly compensated employee:
- At least 14 days before the first day of employment for new hires, or
- At least 14 days before the signing deadline for current employees being asked to sign
The 14 days run from delivery to execution. Asking the employee to sign at the offer-letter stage with a same-day start violates the Act and voids the non-compete.
The employer must also provide a specific statutorily-required notice, verbatim:
The District of Columbia Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 limits the use of non-compete agreements. It allows employers to request non-compete agreements from “highly compensated employees” under certain conditions. [Name of employer] has determined that you are a highly compensated employee. For more information about the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, contact the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES).
Any non-compete that fails the 14-day delivery, verbatim notice, salary threshold, or content requirements is void and unenforceable. Substantial compliance is not the standard.
Content requirements a Washington DC Business Law Attorney enforces in drafting
A valid non-compete with a highly compensated employee must specify:
- The functional scope (services, roles, industries, or specific competitors)
- A geographic limitation
- A non-competition period of no more than 365 days after separation (730 days for medical specialists)
Generic language (“any competing business”) and unlimited geographic scope (“anywhere in the United States”) will not survive challenge. Drafting tight, narrow language tied to the employee’s actual role is the only approach that holds.
The handbook trap
The 2022 amendment broadened the definition of “non-compete provision” to include workplace policies. A clause buried in an employee handbook that prohibits an employee from “engaging in any competitive activity following separation” is a non-compete, even if it is labeled a “code of conduct” or “outside employment policy.”
The fix is to separate during-employment policies from post-employment restrictions. Anti-moonlighting and conflict-of-interest rules belong in the handbook and apply only during employment. Post-employment restrictions belong in a separate, signed agreement that satisfies the Act’s threshold, notice, and content requirements.
Separate notice obligations for non-compete-exception policies
Employers who maintain confidentiality, non-disclosure, or conflict-of-interest policies under the Act’s exceptions must provide written notice of those policies:
- Within 30 days of an employee accepting employment
- Within 30 days of any change to the policy
- For any policies in effect as of October 1, 2022, within 30 days of that date
This is a separate notice obligation from the highly-compensated-employee verbatim notice. Both apply to employers using restrictive covenants in DC.
Practical drafting moves
For an employer wanting to maximize enforceability:
- Audit the existing employment agreement template and handbook for any language that crosses the post-employment line
- Pull post-employment restrictions out of the handbook and into a stand-alone agreement
- Confirm the employee’s total compensation meets the 2026 threshold before issuing the non-compete
- Build the 14-day window into the offer process, with documentation showing when the agreement was delivered
- Include the verbatim notice in the same package
- Draft narrow functional, geographic, and temporal scope tied to the specific role
- Use the sale-of-business carve-out for transactional non-competes rather than the employment carve-out
Enforcement consequences
The Act includes anti-retaliation provisions and authorizes both private actions and DC Attorney General enforcement. Penalties for violations run between $350 and $1,000 per violation, with additional damages available for retaliation. The DC AG’s Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section has signaled active interest in restrictive-covenant enforcement.
Bottom line
DC’s non-compete framework rewards employers who treat the law as a drafting discipline rather than a checkbox. A consultation with a Washington DC business law attorney can audit existing templates, separate handbook policies from post-employment restrictions, confirm the 2026 salary threshold applies, and structure delivery and notice processes that survive challenges. Useful background reading: the DC Department of Employment Services at does.dc.gov and the statutory text at code.dccouncil.gov. Internal pages worth pairing with this post include a DC employment compliance checklist, an offer letter and onboarding guide, and a fractional general counsel overview.
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