Yellow-dog contract

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A yellow-dog contract (or a yellow-dog clause^[1]of a contract) is an agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union whilst employed. In the United States, such contracts were, until the 1930s, widely used by employers to prevent the formation of unions, most often by permitting employers to take legal action against union organizers. In 1932, yellow-dog contracts were outlawed in the United States under the Norris-LaGuardia Act.

The term yellow-dog clause is often ascribed to those non-compete clauses that may be appended to a non-disclosure agreement to prevent an employee from working for other employers in the same industry as that of the company with which an employer agrees to a contract.

Yellow-dog union refers to employee associations that are affiliated covertly or operated openly by an employer.