Outside Employment Policy
(with Acknowledgment) (PA)

Summary

This template is an outside employment policy for use in the state of Pennsylvania that aims to prevent employees from accepting outside work that would interfere with their work for their primary employer. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and optional clauses. IMPORTANT NOTE: On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued its final rule prohibiting new non-compete agreements with all workers. The rule provides that existing non-compete agreements with senior executives remain in force, and existing non-competes with all other workers are not enforceable. The final rule was set to become effective on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas set aside the FTC rule, preventing the rule from taking effect. See Ryan LLC v. FTC, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148488 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 20, 2024). The policy should not be overly restrictive so as to cause good employees to flee or to unduly interfere with employees' off-duty time. This template is intended for private employers. Employers may include this policy in an employee handbook or distribute it as a standalone policy. Pennsylvania does not appear to have a specific law regulating outside employment by current employees. Make sure to check relevant state and local laws. The drafting notes address related issues under Pennsylvania and federal law, and as a result, the text differs from the non-jurisdictional Outside Employment Policy. For a full listing of key content that can be used by in-house counsel to develop, revise, and implement a company's employee and third-party-related policies, see In-House Company Policies Resource Kit. For a non-jurisdictional employee handbook, see Employee Handbook. For a full listing of key content covering employee handbook considerations, see Employee Handbook Resource Kit. For a checklist outlining the main issues for Pennsylvania employers to consider when reviewing employee handbooks under federal and Pennsylvania law, see Employee Handbook Review Checklist (PA).