Bill Text: NY A05776 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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 20-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-27 - amended on third reading 5776c [A05776 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A05776-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5776--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 19, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ,  REYES,  SAYEGH, GOTTFRIED, GALEF,
          D'URSO, STIRPE, ARROYO, SIMON, STECK, CRUZ, GLICK,  ZEBROWSKI,  ORTIZ,
          WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, DenDEKKER, ENGLEBRIGHT,
          GRIFFIN  --  read  once  and referred to the Committee on Judiciary --
          reported  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Codes  --   committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        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  5-337 to read as follows:
     5    § 5-337. Agreements  between  employers  restricting  the  current  or
     6  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  between  two or more employers, including through a franchise
    10  agreement or a contractor-subcontractor agreement; and
    11    (ii) prohibits or restricts one employer  from  soliciting  or  hiring
    12  another employer's employees or former employees.
    13    (b)  Notwithstanding  any other law to the contrary, no employer shall
    14  enter into a restrictive employment  agreement  with  another  employer,
    15  enforce  a  restrictive  employment  agreement  or threaten to enforce a
    16  restrictive employment agreement and any restrictive  employment  agree-
    17  ment is hereby declared to be contrary to public policy and wholly 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
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04740-03-9
        A. 5776--A                          2
     1  subdivision (b) of this section may maintain an action for damages equal
     2  to  the  sum  of (i) any actual damages sustained by the individual as a
     3  result of such violation, (ii) such amount of punitive  damages  as  the
     4  court  may  allow,  and  (iii)  in  the case of any successful action to
     5  enforce any liability under  this  section,  the  costs  of  the  action
     6  together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.
     7    (d)  Whenever  the  attorney  general  finds  that  there  has  been a
     8  violation of this section, he or she may proceed as provided in subdivi-
     9  sion twelve of section sixty-three of the executive law.
    10    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.