Microsoft Corp. is removing noncompete clauses from its employment agreements in the US and will not enforce such clauses in existing agreements. It also pledged to disclose salary ranges in job applications, among other things.

The move was announced in a blog post Wednesday.

“In practice, what this means is those US employees will not be restricted by a noncompete clause in seeking employment with another company who may be considered a Microsoft competitor,” according to the post.

However, noncompete clauses will remain in effect for senior leadership. And all employees will still be accountable to Microsoft’s standards of business conduct and other obligations to protect confidential information.

The post was submitted by Amy Pannoni and Amy Coleman. Pannoni is deputy general counsel, HR legal for corporate external affairs. Coleman is corporate VP, human resources for corporate functions and global employee relations.

In addition, Microsoft will publicly disclose salary ranges in all of its internal and external job postings across the US starting no later than January 2023.

Microsoft’s blog post also stated that US settlement and separation agreements no longer include confidentiality language that prohibits workers from disclosing alleged conduct they perceive is illegal discrimination, harassment, retaliation, sexual assault or a wage-and-hour violation. 

The company will also have a third party conduct a civil rights audit of its workforce policies and practices. Plans call for the results to be published.

The move comes as more states and locations enact laws addressing issues such as pay transparency, though Microsoft’s new policies will be effective nationwide.

Pay transparency. For example, California, Washington and New York as well as some cities have enacted legislation requiring companies disclose pay ranges in job postings.

Noncompetes. In terms of noncompetes, California law already prohibits employers, including those who operate out of state but employ California residents, from enforcing noncompete agreements. California Attorney General Rob Bonta in March issued an alert reminding employers and workers of the rule.

Meanwhile, Washington state’s non-competition agreement law governs when a noncompete agreement may be considered valid or enforceable under state law.

Nondisclosures. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on March 24 signed into law the Silenced No More Act, which prohibits agreements containing nondisclosure and nondisparagement provisions that prevent an employee or independent contractor from discussing certain violations of law, including illegal acts of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and sexual assault, Staffing Industry Review reported.