“Moonlighting” is when an employee has a second (or third or fourth) job in addition to regular employment with a specific employer. For example, an employee could work 3 days a week as a hygienist at Employer A, and 2 days a week at Employer B. 

Due to the competitive nature of companies, employers generally like to have policies that prevent moonlighting by their staff. In recent years, WA has started to crack down on such policies. 

In 2020, for example, a new state law took effect regarding restricted use of non-competition agreements. Within that law, there are rules on anti-moonlighting policies and provisions. It specifically states:

• No Moonlighting Restrictions for Low Wage Workers, Unless an Exception Applies. The statute (RCW 49.62) defines low wage employees as those making less than twice the minimum hourly wage (which, as of 2025, is $33.32 per hour or $69,305 per year). Employers cannot restrict these individuals from “having an additional job, supplementing their income by working for another employer, working as an independent contractor, or being self-employed.”
• Exception for Restrictions Based on Common Law Duty of Loyalty. The same statute, however, explicitly preserves employees’ common law duty of loyalty to their employers. The duty of loyalty traditionally requires employees to act in their employers’ best interest and avoid conflicts of interest. Until now, this “duty of loyalty” provision may have allowed many anti-moonlighting policies to remain in effect.

   

In their latest decision, however, the Supreme Court made it harder for employers to restrict low wage workers from obtaining additional employment – even if it’s with a competitor.

In David v. Freedom Vans LLC, the Court firmly rejected the position taken by the lower courts who had sided with the employer, and stated that such a blanket prohibition would undermine the legislature’s intent to permit low wage employees to supplement their income and unreasonably broaden their duty of loyalty. The court’s message seems clear: anti-moonlighting and duty of loyalty provisions must be narrowly drafted and will be strictly construed when applicable to low wage employees in Washington.