Supporters of a bill that would outlaw noncompete contracts said Tuesday that they are concerned about a big-business lobbying effort to stop the measure from becoming law.
They’re urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign it, and they say the governor’s staff has avoided meeting with them.
Noncompete agreements prohibit an employee of a company from working for a competitor or opening their own competing business for a certain length of time after the worker leaves.
State Sen. Sean Ryan, the sponsor of a bill that would end noncompete clauses, said the agreements used to be limited to highly paid upper-echelon executives at large organizations. But he said now, many people — from car rental shop workers to doctors — are required to sign them as terms of employment.
“The truth is that one in five Americans are subjected to noncompete agreements,” Ryan said. “Here in New York state, over 40% of the employers use noncompete agreements.”
Ryan was joined by supporters — including members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, which recently successfully ended a 118-day strike against the film and television industry — the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, and members of the state’s AFL-CIO.
Rebecca Daman with SAG-AFTRA said the noncompete agreements harm the overall economy and artificially suppress wages.
“A noncompete clause allows (a) worker’s employer to force the employee to choose between better work opportunities...
Pakistani actress and model Ayesha Omar has strongly denied a controversial statement falsely attributed to her on social media. In recent days, a statement circulated online claiming that the act...