Yesterday, the NY State Assembly passed a bill proposing a ban on employee non-competes in New York. This is the same bill that was previously passed by the NY State Senate. This means that the bill now goes to the Governor, who may sign or veto it. If signed, it will go into effect 30 days thereafter.
As reported in PERKS, the bill generally bans non-compete agreements, which it broadly defines as “any agreement, or clause contained in any agreement, between an employer and a covered individual that prohibits or restricts such covered individual from obtaining employment, after the conclusion of employment with the employer included as a party to the agreement.” The bill explicitly carves out confidentiality and client non-solicitation provisions, which, however, have been the subject of recent scrutiny by the NLRB, as we have also previously mentioned on PERKS.
Remedies for breach of the proposed new law would include injunctive relief, liquidated damages of up to $10,000 per violation, lost compensation, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
We will keep you updated on the status of the bill and any action by the Governor.
For text of the proposed bill, see here: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly