Wyoming Employment Law for Martial Arts Schools: Non-Competes, Pay and Hiring Rules
Researched October 21, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Part of the Martial Arts Employment Law Center. Points we could not confirm from a primary source are marked. Confirm with an employment lawyer admitted in Wyoming before you sign, change or enforce a staff agreement.
Wyoming bans most employee non-competes by statute; only the listed exceptions survive.
Research confidence: medium.
Can a martial arts school in Wyoming make instructors sign a non-compete?
For contracts signed on or after July 1, 2025, W.S. 1-23-108 (2025 SF0107) voids any non-compete that restricts a person’s right to be paid for skilled or unskilled labor. The exceptions are the sale of a business, protection of trade secrets, and executive and management personnel and officers along with their professional staff. A separate exception lets employers recover training, education and relocation costs on a sliding scale: up to 100% if the employee leaves in under two years, 66% at two to three years, and 33% at three to four years. Agreements signed before July 1, 2025 are not affected. An ordinary instructor or front-desk employee hired after that date cannot be bound by a non-compete, though a school manager might be.
Can you stop a departing instructor from soliciting your students?
The 2025 statute does not mention non-solicitation clauses. Whether a student non-solicit counts as a banned non-compete is not settled (Not confirmed — check with local counsel). A narrow clause limited to students the employee taught has the best chance.
Can you stop a departing instructor from recruiting your staff?
Not addressed by the statute. Employee non-solicits are probably reviewed under ordinary reasonableness rules, but no court has ruled yet (Not confirmed — check with local counsel).
What is the minimum wage for instructors in Wyoming?
Wyoming’s state minimum is $5.15 per hour, but almost every employer is covered by the federal $7.25 minimum, which is the practical floor. There’s no scheduled increase and no local minimums.
When do instructors earn overtime?
Wyoming has no state overtime law, so federal FLSA rules apply. That means time and a half after 40 hours a week, with the federal white-collar salary threshold.
When is the final paycheck due?
When an employee leaves for any reason, final wages are due by the earlier of the next regular payday or five business days after separation (W.S. 27-4-104(a), as summarized by secondary sources). Earned commissions count as wages.
What background checks can you run on instructors who teach children?
No ban-the-box or fair-chance law covers private employers, and there’s no state FCRA-equivalent beyond the federal FCRA. No state law requires background checks for martial arts or youth-sports instructors, though licensed child care triggers state checks. The sex offender registry is publicly searchable, and there’s no salary-history ban.
Are martial arts instructors mandated reporters of child abuse?
Yes, everyone is a mandated reporter. Wyoming requires any person who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect to report it immediately to the Department of Family Services or local law enforcement (W.S. 14-3-205).
What can a dress code or grooming policy require?
There’s no CROWN Act. The Wyoming Fair Employment Practices Act protects religion, so religious dress and grooming should be accommodated. The state act doesn’t list sexual orientation or gender identity, but federal Title VII covers employers with 15 or more employees.
How far can a morals or conduct clause reach into off-duty life?
Wyoming bars employment discrimination based on lawful off-duty tobacco use. Not confirmed whether any broader lawful-activity protection exists. Recreational and medical cannabis remain illegal, so cannabis use isn’t protected.
Do you have to disclose pay or allow staff to discuss it?
No pay-range posting or wage-discussion law beyond the federal NLRA.
What privacy rules apply to student and parent records?
No comprehensive consumer privacy law. Federal COPPA and the state breach-notification statute apply.
Other Wyoming rules that catch school owners
No paid sick leave, meal or rest break, or predictive scheduling mandates for adults. Teen assistant instructors are subject to federal child labor hour limits for 14- and 15-year-olds.
What to watch in Wyoming
Expect the first court decisions interpreting W.S. 1-23-108, especially on whether non-solicits and ‘management personnel’ are covered. Agreements signed before July 1, 2025 remain under the old reasonableness rules.
The bottom line for Wyoming schools
Leave a post-employment non-compete out of ordinary instructor agreements; for that role it is unlikely to be enforceable. Where Wyoming law allows it, a narrow student non-solicitation clause limited to students the employee actually taught, a confidentiality agreement, and real control of the student database protect a school far better.
Sources
- Wyoming 2025 SF0107 enrolled act
- Proskauer: Wyoming bans most non-compete agreements
- Fisher Phillips: New law voids most Wyoming non-compete agreements
- Teambridge: Wyoming final pay
Also for Wyoming: Martial arts laws in Wyoming · Wyoming membership contracts
What every martial arts school staff package should contain
- Offer or employment agreement: the legal employer, the role and duties, workplace, pay, employment status and termination terms, reviewed against local rules. U.S. at-will language does not belong in a Canadian contract.
- Compensation schedule: hourly or salary terms, commissions and bonuses, and exactly when each is earned and paid. Record all working time, not only time on the mat. See instructor pay structures and overtime.
- Appearance and conduct policies: functional uniform, hygiene and safety standards with a written accommodation process. See the dress code and grooming guide.
- Child-protection policy: boundaries, private communications, transport, supervision and reporting. See the conduct clause guide and background checks for instructors.
- Confidentiality and data-security agreement: student records, CRM access, permitted use, return and deletion, and protected-disclosure exceptions (in the U.S., the federal DTSA whistleblower-immunity notice). See student data and trade secrets.
- Restrictive-covenant addendum: only what local law permits, usually a narrow student or staff non-solicitation clause; a non-compete only in exceptional cases. See non-compete laws by state and non-solicitation agreements.
Planning for a departure? Read When an instructor leaves: protecting students and records. Every state and province is indexed in the Martial Arts Employment Law Center.
Before you act on this
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Employment, wage, human-rights, privacy and restrictive-covenant laws change, and their application depends on the exact wording of an agreement, the employee’s duties and pay, where the work is done and when the agreement was signed. Confirm the current statute, regulations and agency guidance, and take advice from a lawyer admitted in the relevant state or province, before drafting, changing or enforcing an employment agreement. Corrections: see our editorial policy.
