House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North
Reading) is pleased to announce his appointment of Representative F. Jay
Barrows (R-Mansfield) as a member of the conference committee that will review
proposed reforms to employee non-compete agreements in Massachusetts.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate recently
approved bills to regulate the use of non-compete agreements, which are often
used in the technology and financial service industries to prevent employees
from leaving a company to join a competitor within the same geographic area. The House version of the bill limits most non-compete
agreements to one year and requires employers to pay half of the employee’s
annualized salary during this non-compete period, while the Senate version
limits non-competes to three months but requires that employees be paid their
full salary while the non-compete agreement is in effect.
Representative Barrows will serve on the conference
committee alongside Senators Daniel Wolf (D-Harwich), William Brownsberger (D-Belmont)
and Ryan Fattman (R-Webster), as well as Representatives Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill)
and John Scibak (D-South Hadley). The
conferees will work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate
versions of the non-compete bill so a compromise proposal can be sent to
Governor Charlie Baker for his signature before the end of formal legislative
sessions on July 31.
“Representative Barrows has spent many years running his own
business in the private sector, which gives him a unique perspective on the
issue of non-competes,” said Representative Jones. “Jay brings a wealth of
real-world knowledge and expertise to the conference committee, and can use
this insight to help provide his fellow conferees with a better understanding
of both the good and bad aspects of non-compete agreements as they work to
craft a compromise.”
Representative Barrows currently serves as a member of the
Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the House Committee on
Ethics. He represents the First Bristol
District, which consists of Precincts 2, 3 and 6 in Mansfield; Precincts 3,4
and 5 in Norton; and the town of Foxborough.
