Wyoming Employment Contract Review
Wyoming changed course in 2025. Senate File 107 created W.S. 1-23-108, which makes any covenant restricting a person's right to be paid for skilled or unskilled labor void, for contracts entered on or after July 1, 2025. The exceptions are specific: executives and managers, sale of a business, trade secret protection, and limited repayment of training costs. Older agreements stay under case law, which no longer lets judges rewrite an overbroad clause.
Non-compete in Wyoming
Limited, enforceable only in narrow cases
Are non-competes enforceable in Wyoming?
Here is Wyoming non-compete law in plain English, with the statute it rests on.
Under W.S. 1-23-108, non-competes signed on or after July 1, 2025 are void for most workers, but remain possible for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, for trade secret protection, on the sale of a business, and for limited training-cost repayment. Physician non-competes are void; agreements signed earlier follow prior case law.
Governing law: Wyoming Statutes §1-23-108.
Whatever the label in your contract, Wyoming courts look at whether the restriction is reasonable in duration, geography, and scope. A nationwide, multi-year, whole-industry ban is far more likely to be narrowed or struck down than a narrow one.
Who owns what you invent in Wyoming?
Wyoming does not have a specific personal-invention carve-out statute, so a broad IP-assignment clause can reach more of what you create, potentially including side projects. Read the assignment scope and push to limit it to work actually related to your job.
Arbitration and class-action waivers in Wyoming
Wyoming generally follows the federal rule that arbitration agreements are enforceable. Before you sign, check whether the clause is mutual and whether it waives your right to a class or collective action, you are usually giving up the right to sue in court.
Which Wyoming non-competes survive the 2025 law?
W.S. 1-23-108 exempts covenants in the sale of a business or its assets, covenants to the extent they protect trade secrets as defined in W.S. 6-3-501, and agreements with executive and management personnel and officers and employees who are professional staff to them. The statute does not define those roles, so a job title alone may not settle the question in court.
Repayment of relocation, education and training costs is allowed on a sliding scale: up to 100 percent for under two years of service, 66 percent for two to under three years, 33 percent for three to under four years, and nothing after four. Physician non-competes are void, and physicians may tell patients with rare disorders where they are now practicing.
What about Wyoming agreements signed before July 2025?
The 2025 law expressly does not alter contracts entered into before July 1, 2025. Those are judged under Wyoming case law: the covenant must be in writing, part of an employment contract, based on reasonable consideration, reasonable in duration and geography, and not against public policy.
In Hassler v. Circle C Resources (2022), the Wyoming Supreme Court overruled its earlier blue pencil rule, so courts will not narrow an overbroad pre-2025 covenant, even if the contract expressly invites them to.
Wyoming sources checked 2026-10-09: Wyoming Legislature, SF0107 (2025) enrolled act · Wyoming Legislative Service Office, topic summary on Hassler and the blue pencil rule · Fisher Phillips, New law voids most Wyoming non-compete agreements · Proskauer, Wyoming bans most non-compete agreements. Laws change; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
What ClauseAudit checks in a Wyoming employment contract
- Non-compete enforceability under Wyoming law and whether the scope is reasonable
- IP / invention-assignment scope and any personal-time carve-out
- Mandatory arbitration and class-action waiver
- At-will terms and asymmetric notice or severance
- Equity vesting, cliffs, and bad-leaver forfeiture
- Discretionary bonus criteria and clawback provisions
Wyoming employment contract FAQ
Are non-competes enforceable in Wyoming?
In Wyoming, non-competes are enforceable only in limited circumstances under Wyoming Statutes §1-23-108. Under W.S. 1-23-108, non-competes signed on or after July 1, 2025 are void for most workers, but remain possible for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, for trade secret protection, on the sale of a business, and for limited training-cost repayment. Physician non-competes are void; agreements signed earlier follow prior case law.
Can my Wyoming employer own inventions I make on my own time?
Wyoming does not have a specific statute carving out personal-time inventions, so a broad IP-assignment clause can reach more of what you create. Read the assignment scope carefully and ask to limit it to work related to your job.
Do I have to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement in Wyoming?
Wyoming generally follows the federal rule that arbitration agreements are enforceable. Check whether the clause is mutual and whether it waives your right to a class action, and know that you are usually giving up the right to sue in court. Everywhere in the US, the federal Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets you take sexual harassment and sexual assault claims to court even if you signed one.
What makes a non-compete reasonable in Wyoming?
Wyoming does not set a presumptive maximum term, so reasonableness is assessed on the whole restriction rather than against a number: how long it runs, how much geography it covers, how broadly it defines the restricted activity, and whether it protects something the employer can genuinely claim an interest in. A restriction that is narrow on one of those and broad on the rest is still vulnerable.
What if I work in Wyoming but my employer is in another state?
It matters, because Wyoming's neighbours do not all treat non-competes the same way: Idaho (generally enforceable), Montana (generally enforceable), Nebraska (generally enforceable), South Dakota (generally enforceable), Utah (generally enforceable). Which state's law applies turns on the governing-law and venue clauses in your contract and on where the work is actually performed, so those two clauses are worth reading closely before you sign.
Is there anything specific to Wyoming worth knowing?
Non-competes entered into on or after 1 July 2025 are void, except for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, trade secret protection, sale of a business, and limited training-cost repayment.
What else should I check in a Wyoming employment contract?
Beyond the non-compete: how invention assignment is worded and whether it reaches work done on your own time; whether disputes go to arbitration and whether class actions are waived; whether notice periods are symmetrical between you and the employer; and how any equity vests, including what happens if you leave before a cliff.
Am I an executive or manager under Wyoming's non-compete law?
The statute does not define executive and management personnel. Commentators look to Colorado decisions under identical former language, which considered whether the employee ran or supervised a business unit, had hiring and firing authority, and had greater access to confidential information. A manager title alone may not be enough, so describe your actual duties if the question arises.
Can my Wyoming employer make me repay training costs if I quit?
Yes, within limits. W.S. 1-23-108 permits recovering relocation, education and training expenses: up to 100 percent if you served less than two years, 66 percent for two to under three years, and 33 percent for three to under four years. After four years, nothing can be recovered. Check the repayment clause in your offer against those percentages.
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Wyoming: the governing law
- Statute
Wyo. Stat. § 1-23-108- Worth knowing
- Non-competes entered into on or after 1 July 2025 are void, except for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, trade secret protection, sale of a business, and limited training-cost repayment.
Statute and reformation approach from Beck Reed Riden LLP, Employee Noncompetes: A State-by-State Survey, 2026-01-21. Verify against the current text before relying on it.
How Wyoming compares with neighbouring states
Wyoming does not treat non-competes the same way as every state it borders, which matters when a contract names another state's law. 5 of its 6 neighbours take a different approach.
Nationally: 4 jurisdictions treat employee non-competes as void, 13 allow them only in limited circumstances, and 34 generally enforce them if reasonable.
State law summarized as of 2026-10-09; statutes change frequently. This is Automated educational information, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified Wyoming attorney before signing.