Microsoft plans to stop adding noncompete clauses to US employment agreements, drop NDAs from US worker settlements, add salary ranges to US job posts, and more
Bending to employee sentiment and legislative mandate, Microsoft announced a series of reforms Wednesday that will curtail …
GeekWireTodd Bishop
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft’s labor posture had already shifted days earlier with principles recognizing employees’ organizing rights, while its larger merit-pay and stock-compensation budget addressed a separate source of employee pressure. The new employment-agreement changes extend that response from pay and organizing to mobility, settlement terms and hiring transparency.
First-order effects
US job candidates gain salary-range information before applying, while Microsoft employees and departing workers face fewer new contractual limits on changing jobs or discussing settlements.
Microsoft must rely more on compensation, workplace practices and retention than on new noncompete clauses to hold US talent.
Second-order effects
Other US technology employers face a clearer comparison point for pay disclosure and restrictive employment terms, increasing pressure to explain or revise their own policies.
Recruiters and prospective hires can use posted ranges to compare Microsoft roles more directly, making compensation bands a more visible competitive tool.
Third-order effects
If large employers pair organizing commitments with fewer restrictive clauses and pay ranges, competition for technical talent shifts further from contractual lock-in toward transparent compensation and workplace conditions.
The pattern strengthens the talent-to-trade-secret transition: companies seeking to protect knowledge may have to separate legitimate IP safeguards from broad limits on employee mobility.
The trend: Large technology employers are moving employee relations toward greater pay transparency, worker voice and mobility as retention tools become more visible than restrictive contracts.
Enforceable #noncompete agreements (aggressively pursued by both $AMZN and $MSFT) have long been a drag on #WA #innovation — huge props to @satyanadella + @microsoft for voluntarily abandoning their use in some cases (let's hope that gives legislators courage to finish the job) h…
This is something big. As huge a shift as their embrace of open source, and as much a harbinger of where the industry is headed. https://twitter.com/...
Respect this move by @Microsoft. They seem to be ahead of the curve in recognizing the upcoming fight for talent and the need to have truly labor friendly policies. https://twitter.com/...
Holy shit, @Microsoft just made a strong case for being more of Earth's Best Employer than @Amazon by a fairly wide margin. I love this! https://twitter.com/...
Meanwhile, if you go off the grid, raise alpacas, and live a quiet hermit life after your job with Am*zon... they will probably sue you for competing with the home goods vertical https://twitter.com/...
Of the major tech companies, Microsoft is still at the top of my list. Would not have said this 10 years ago. They have clearly shifted and the rest of the industry at their scale didn't get the memo. Looking directly at you, FAANG. https://twitter.com/...
People are the heart & soul of Microsoft & our number one priority. Today, we're announcing new changes & investments aimed at further deepening our employee relationships & enhancing our workplace culture. https://blogs.microsoft.com/ ...
This is good but I think the thing about NDAs is less exciting than it sounds. A lot of companies do NDAs and non-disparagement agreements which are separate, I don't know what MS does. But it sounds like this only applies to some specific situations. https://twitter.com/...
Big move from Microsoft. Employee pressure + legislation can work to making job markets more transparent and fair. https://www.geekwire.com/... https://twitter.com/...