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.
If you want to retain top talent, pay them, give them better working conditions, offer them fulfilment. Don’t make it illegal for them to work elsewhere.
We need free markets and deregulation… until it inconvenieniences non-productive shareholders in the slightest or those dirty workers start getting a little uppity.
In California, non-compete agreements are banned unless the company compensates the person subject for the agreement. If the company can impose one for free, why not subject everyone to them?