Originally published at: New York governor Kathy Hochul vetoes ban on noncompete clauses - Boing Boing
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Non-compete clauses are almost certainly unenforceable against workers in this category. They can also be unenforceable against anyone if they are too broad, or unreasonably restrict someone’s ability to earn a living in the career of their choice. As an example, a podiatrist who works at a clinic could be restricted from being a podiatrist at another clinic within some limited geographic area of the first clinic, but you can’t restrict her from being a podiatrist anywhere in the US. You could restrict her from being a podiatrist in that area for 5 years, but you couldn’t restrict her from being a podiatrist in that area forever.
That being said, they should be banned period, and Kathy Hochul is awful. She almost makes me wish Cuomo was still there. Almost.
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The fact that California banned non-compete clauses is why Silicon Valley exists. Employees from one electronic company would pick up and move to another or found their own if they came up with a new idea.
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The question is for whom. Definitely not her constituency.
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She likes to remind us that she’s awful every so often
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I have never seen one of these used for anything other than petty bullshit. The head of event planning at a financial services company I used to work for went to a different financial services company and the company I was at enforced against her. She had no valuable contacts or industry insider skills/information, she just planned the annual sales agent conference and a few other things. Absolute and utter horseshit.
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Unfortunately, there’s probably a lot of overlap between people who non-competes can’t reasonably apply to and people who don’t necessarily have the option of just calling their lawyer and batting back an unenforceable claim.
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Most of those low wage workers don’t know they are unenforceable, though. The threat keeps them stuck.
Like these ppl at a daycare who signed a NDA- about the marketing strategies. The manager was telling them this NDA meant they can’t talk to licensing during an investigation.
Luckily one of them did mention that to the investigator and licensing came down like a hammer. But these people, reasonable people, were so afraid of this bogus NDA (I saw it, it was BS) that they felt they couldn’t talk to the investigator.
Same thing with these noncompetes in low wage jobs. The fear keeps people from switching. That, and the collusion between fast food joints. Refusing to hire someone who works for one of their buddy franchises
I haven’t looked at the law- but a full out ban is better
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I had a noncompete in my last job, but it was structured in probably the only I’d ever consider these okay. They had a very limited time to decide to exercise it, and had to pay me during the noncompete term.
Sadly, they did not choose to exercise it.
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I’ve heard about them being enforced against literal minimum-wage ditch-diggers (working in oil and gas), making them unable to dig ditches for other oil and gas companies (where the ditch-digging jobs were in their state, apparently). The cost to even think about fighting it was completely out of reach for a low-wage worker. It’s nuts.
And bigger overlap between people who non-competes can’t reasonably apply to and people who can’t remotely afford to have a lawyer in the first place.
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To be clear, when I say “enforceable” I mean enforced by a court. I’m totally aware that such workers wouldn’t have the means to fight it in court. And that’s why I did say “they should be banned period.”
ETA: Also, another good way to keep these kinds of predatory NDA clauses out of lower wage workers’ contracts? Unions. And I would assume unions can provide legal assistance for those wrongly terminated. Unions, unions, unions. Everybody unionize!
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So, casually impeaching or suing with expedition of Hochul [I meant to say that her court attendance would be due about instantly, that kind of expedition; court might deny it, who are we talking about;] while requiring her to take no other [checks notes] other job with reports-to? (With a Dr. Who deck if not a Merrick? Roll for inertia! Clean Slate Act Rod Serling {dress level for a 6-seater SUV}. DEA charges. Gold serials audit. Rolling residency requirement completism. Anti-Boycott Law of Competition. Cloying flavors of instant alcoholic whipped cream.)
ETA: Sueball naming Hochul or her Office or other effective action intended.
ETA anyway: Love a popularly elected Governor who signs some things straight on through, just not seeing the whole under the bus finance buddy pass schema.
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What?
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I’m happy that non-competes never took off in my line of work. The joy of public service.
Almost got rid of the non-poaching clause in my contract the last time it was up for negotiation. At this point it just lives there as a bargaining chip if we can’t come to an understanding on wages. After all, if someone decides I’m not worth the money, they shouldn’t have any worry about people following me on my way out.
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I thought it was just enough comprehensibility to keep you rereading until your attention has to be dragged away like Jake at the end of Chinatown.
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My first industry job had a noncompete clause in my contract. This was in a state that banned them long ago. I took it to mean they’d never rehire me (a concern in a relatively small industry). I wish I had a lawyer or union rep to ask at the time. I did end up turning down another job over the concern.
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I had one in the job I left. Fortunately (I guess) I ultimately decided not to work in the the field ever again. The noncompete clause showed up mysteriously after we poached a whole bunch of docs from a competing hospital (assisted by said hospital’s rather dickish treatment of said docs). That hospital, in turn at the last minute and at great expense, poached a few of ours just to keep the lights on and the ORs running. And ever after we’ve always had a noncompete clause because GOD FORBID you should leave your job over something as petty as renumeration or job conditions. Two year ban, those MFers.
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