The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana bill voids noncompete agreements for plumbers and trade workers starting April 2026
Last action · December 5, 2025: First reading: referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and PensionsSponsors: Robert Morris and 2 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Starting April 1, 2026, noncompete and s entered into between employers and licensed plumbing trade workers, apprentice plumbers, pipefitters, welders, and HVAC service technicians are declared void and unenforceable under Indiana law.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Journeyman plumbers and apprentice plumbers
Their future employment contracts entered into on or after April 1, 2026, cannot legally include enforceable noncompete or nonsolicitation restrictions.
Employers and plumbing contractors
They are prohibited from entering into or enforcing noncompete agreements with trade workers on or after April 1, 2026.
HVAC service technicians, welders, and pipefitters
They are included under the statutory ban on noncompete agreements starting April 1, 2026.
Key Facts
- A noncompete agreement entered into on or after April 1, 2026, between an employer and a journeyman plumber, apprentice plumber, pipefitter, welder, HVAC service technician, or licensed trade worker is void and unenforceable.
- The definition of a noncompete agreement explicitly includes nonsolicitation agreements and training reimbursement agreements for persons not in a registered apprentice program.
- The definition of a noncompete agreement excludes nondisclosure agreements protecting confidential business information and scholarship loan agreements for persons in a commission-approved apprenticeship program.
- The statute must be construed liberally to promote worker mobility, foster competition, protect consumers, and prevent licensing from becoming a barrier to employment.
Show all 5 facts
- An emergency is declared for the act, making it effective upon passage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which trade workers are covered by the noncompete ban?
Are nondisclosure agreements and scholarship loans also banned?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Dec 5, 2025HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions
- Dec 5, 2025HouseCoauthored by Representatives Judy, Ledbetter
- Dec 5, 2025HouseAuthored by Representative Morris
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools