Regulate the Use of Non-Compete Agreements | 2023 NYS Legislative Agenda
New York now stands alone as an outlier in trade secrets law. Federal law under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the laws of 49 states under their versions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act impose statutory requirements and restrictions on trade secrets issues—except in New York, the lone remaining common law jurisdiction in the country. New York has no statutory law generally concerning trade secrets or noncompete agreements. The City Bar proposes a limited—but important—change to New York’s unique status as a common law jurisdiction—namely, enactment of a statute to regulate the use of noncompete agreements as applied to lower-salary employees in order to ensure equity and fairness in employment markets while preserving New York’s traditional role as the nation’s commercial leader. More formal guidelines and standards are necessary to ensure fairness in the application of noncompete agreements that can have profound consequences for employees and for regulation of the employment market. *City Bar Proposal*
UPDATE
A complete ban on noncompete agreements was vetoed by the Governor (Memo 133); the City Bar urged the Governor to veto the bill or adopt chapter amendments to restrict the ban to lower-salary employees – December 22, 2023
