Provides relative to noncompete contracts or agreements for interns and apprentices

HB 315 enacts a new subsection (P) to Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:921 to prohibit noncompete contracts, agreements, or provisions between employers and interns or apprentices. The bill applies this prohibition regardless of whether an intern receives compensation, thus creating an absolute ban on noncompete restrictions for both paid and unpaid interns as well as apprentices. The legislation operates by declaring null and void any contractual language that would restrain an intern or apprentice from engaging in a business or employment similar to that of their employer, adding this category to the existing statutory framework governing restraint of trade in Louisiana.

The practical effect of this legislation is to protect interns and apprentices from being bound by restrictive covenants that would limit their employment options following their internship or apprenticeship period. Interns, whether compensated or not, and apprentices will no longer be able to be restricted from competing with or working for competitors of their current employer. This change particularly impacts young workers and students who participate in internship and apprenticeship programs, as well as employers who have previously used noncompete agreements as a tool to protect proprietary information or customer relationships during training periods.

HB 315 fits within the existing statutory scheme of R.S. 23:921, which establishes the general Louisiana policy against contracts that restrain persons from exercising lawful professions, trades, or businesses, while recognizing certain exceptions. The statute currently lists illustrative circumstances under which noncompete agreements are permissible, such as the sale of a business or dissolution of a partnership. By adding subsection (P), the legislature creates a new categorical prohibition that operates as an exception to the exceptions, ensuring that the broad protections against noncompete agreements extend specifically to the intern and apprentice context regardless of what other statutory exceptions might otherwise apply.