On December 22, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed legislation that would have instituted a near-universal ban on non-competition provisions in New York after negotiations between the Governor and the bill’s legislative sponsors reached an impasse. We summarized the now-defeated bill here and further commented on some of its important shortcomings in a subsequent post here.
The bill, which was stalled after its passage by the New York legislature six months ago, has been the subject of significant attention for many observers. In short, had the measure been signed into law by the Governor, it would have been one of the most restrictive pieces of legislation governing non-compete agreements in the country. The Governor’s veto followed a strident lobbying campaign from New York employers and various industry groups that opposed the bill. These stakeholders had expressed fear that the legislation would eviscerate New York employers’ longstanding ability to use non-competes to protect their business interests and intellectual property in instances where high earners departed for competitors, as well as in the sale-of-business context.
The Governor had previously indicated that while she supported a more moderate ban on non-competition provisions that would prohibit mobility restrictions for lower and medium income earners, the Governor wanted to see the incorporation of both a salary threshold for the use of non-competes (i.e., such that higher earners could still be...
Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for relying on claims by United States President Donald Trump regarding the reported killing of senior Islamic ...