Bill Text: NY S03937 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S03937 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03937-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3937
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 21, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed 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  5-337 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
    20  subdivision (b) of this section  may,  within  three  years  after  such
    21  denial of employment, sue for and recover a judgment equal to the sum of
    22  (i)  any  actual damages sustained by the individual as a result of such
    23  violation, (ii) such amount of punitive damages as the court may  allow,
    24  and  (iii) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability
    25  under this section, the costs of the  action  together  with  reasonable
    26  attorney's fees as determined by the court.
    27    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04740-01-9