Bill Text: NY S03937 | 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 2-0)

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

Download: New_York-2019-S03937-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3937--B

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 21, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  HOYLMAN, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said  commit-
          tee,  ordered  to first and second report, ordered to a third reading,
          amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place  in  the  order  of
          third reading

        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 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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04740-04-9
        S. 3937--B                          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  believes  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.