New York’s governor vetoed a bill days before Christmas that would have banned noncompete agreements, which restrict workers’ ability to leave their job for a role with a rival business.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said she tried to work with the Legislature on a “reasonable compromise” this year, called the bill “a one-size-fits-all-approach” for New York companies legitimately trying to retain top talent.
“I continue to recognize the urgent need to restrict non-compete agreements for middle-class and low-wage workers, and am open to future legislation that achieves the right balance,” she wrote in a veto letter released Saturday.
The veto is a blow to labor groups, who have long argued that the agreements hurt workers and stifle economic growth. The Federal Trade Commission had also sent a letter to Hochul in November, urging her to sign the bill and saying that the agreements can harm innovation and prevent new businesses from forming in the state.
Why the fuck do they even need a non-compete clause for a sandwich shop? Are they worried people are going to reveal their secret Jimmy Johns technique for putting salami on bread to Subway?
The myth of the non-skilled worker isn’t working in their favor here.
It’s legal for them to do so, and if employees can’t go to a competitor, it has the effect of depressing wages.
Non-compete clauses make sense for certain higher level employees (and usually involve some sort of garden leave payment too) but corporate America has started to slip all sorts of bullshit into standard employment contracts just because they can.
It’s not just to depress wages, preventing worker mobility also lets you abuse them in other ways like rotating schedules (which also prevent workers from holding multiple jobs or going to school), bad work environments and wage theft.
It’s not surprising that companies are increasingly abusing the workforce, it’s surprising that workers haven’t started organizing to fight back.
I mean you joke, but that actually happened by me lol
There is a hero shop that is well known for specific heros they make that are really good, so after they fired a guy who worked there for years and years he opened his own shop and took all their recipes plus added pizza. (He also hired someone to make pizza and then fired him after he learned how to do it. He’s just a scumbag lol)
Did you mean gyro🥙?
Nope, it’s one of the variations of names for a long sandwich we use in NY. Hero, grinder, hoagie, sub, etc… lol
Aah! We learn something every day
It isn’t about need, but about want. Every extra notch of control they can get over workers employment opportunities, they want.