NY Legislators to Curb Misuse of Non-Compete Agreements

Dealing with a termination can be a difficult task, but when coupled with restrictions set forth by your previous employer stopping you from working for another company, it can be an absolute nightmare. Many workers are often faced with this scenario after having signed a non-compete agreement at the beginning of their employment. The agreement takes effect after the employer-employee relationship has ended, and usually prohibits former employees from working for a competitor for a period of time after leaving the company or risk being sued. Non-competes are typically established and enforced to protect a company’s trade secrets or confidential information, but can be financially straining for low wage workers trying to look for a new job.

However, in recent years many states have moved to reduce the misuse of non-competes in order to protect workers from the potentially harmful restrictions. The New York Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, has proposed the most comprehensive bill to date with regard to non-competes which could significantly reshape how these agreements are allowed to be used. He is looking to introduce this legislation next year which would ban using non-competes for employees earning less than $900 per week. The bill would also require employers to offer extra compensation for employees signing non-competes and would look to limit the time duration of these agreements. Most importantly, the proposal would be the first ever to grant employees the right to liquidated damages when faced with unlawful non-competes.

If you or anybody you know has concerns about their non-compete agreements and the laws that regulate them, do not hesitate to give the employment lawyers of Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP a call. One of our experienced attorneys will assist you over the phone for a free phone consultation and help you navigate through your situation. Please give us a call at 212-300-0375 or visit our website at fslawfirm.com for more information.