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Editorial

Massachusetts should ease up protecting ‘noncompete’ clauses

  October 30, 2011

One measure of economic security is how hard it is for workers to pick up a new job after losing their current ones. And there is strong evidence that Massachusetts is making it harder than necessary. A legal dispute involving a former salesman for Boston Beer Co. sheds new light on a long-standing problem for workers in competitive industries: The Commonwealth’s willingness to enforce “noncompete’’ clauses in employment contracts can impede workers’ ability to find new jobs.

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