Bill Text: NY A01463 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits agreements between employers that directly restrict the current or future employment of any employee and allows for a cause of action against employers who engage in such agreements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - ordered to third reading cal.76 [A01463 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A01463-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1463

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ,  REYES,  SAYEGH, GOTTFRIED, GALEF,
          STIRPE, SIMON, STECK, CRUZ, GLICK,  ZEBROWSKI,  WEPRIN,  FERNANDEZ  --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, ENGLEBRIGHT, GRIFFIN -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN  ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to prohibiting
          agreements between employers that directly  restrict  the  current  or
          future employment of any employee

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known  and  may  be  cited  as  the  "End
     2  Employer Collusion Act".
     3    §  2.  The  general obligations law is amended by adding a new section
     4  5-338 to read as follows:
     5    § 5-338. Agreements between certain employers restricting the  current
     6  or  future  employment of an employee void. (a) For the purposes of this
     7  section, the following term  "restrictive  employment  agreement"  shall
     8  mean any agreement that:
     9    (i) is included in a franchise agreement; and
    10    (ii) prohibits or restricts one or more franchisees from soliciting or
    11  hiring  the  employees  or former employees of the franchisor or another
    12  franchisee.
    13    (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,  no  franchisor  or
    14  person  acting  on  its  behalf  may  enter  into or renew a restrictive
    15  employment agreement, enforce a  restrictive  employment  agreement,  or
    16  threaten  to enforce a restrictive employment agreement and any restric-
    17  tive employment agreement is hereby void.
    18    (c) Every person who  was  denied  employment  due  to  a  restrictive
    19  employment  agreement  or  was  otherwise  damaged due to a violation of
    20  subdivision (b) of this section may maintain an action for damages equal
    21  to the sum of (i) any actual damages sustained by the  individual  as  a
    22  result  of  such  violation, (ii) such amount of punitive damages as the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02724-01-1
        A. 1463                             2

     1  court may allow, and (iii) in the  case  of  any  successful  action  to
     2  enforce  any  liability  under  this  section,  the  costs of the action
     3  together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.
     4    (d)  Whenever  the  attorney  general  believes  that there has been a
     5  violation of this section, he or she may proceed as provided in subdivi-
     6  sion twelve of section sixty-three of the executive law.
     7    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.