Yesss! Biden Admin working to help working class people -Ban on non compete clauses

[tulipsandroses]

The rest of the country might finally be catching up to California when it comes to workers’ right to hop between jobs.

The Biden administration asked the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit noncompete agreements nationwide as part of a broad executive order Friday. These agreements, which typically prevent workers from quitting their jobs and going to work for a competitor of their current employer, are already unenforceable in California. The administration argues that they serve to keep wages down and disempower employees from demanding better working conditions.

This executive order comes as noncompetes are on the rise across the country, with anywhere between 27% and 46% of all private-sector workers subject to the agreements, according to a 2019 survey by the ements, according to a 2019 survey by the Economic Policy Institute. Though broadly intended to discourage employees from taking trade secrets along with them when they switch jobs, noncompete clauses are increasingly worked into jobs across the economic scale.

The sandwich chain Jimmy John’s became a poster child for the practice in 2016, when attorneys general in New York and Illinois sued the company for barring employees from taking another job with competing sandwich shops for two years after quitting and from working for any establishment that made more than 10% of its revenue from sandwiches located within two miles of a Jimmy John’s location.

[link:https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-07-09/what-bidens-executive-order-on-non-compete-agreements-means-for-tech-workers|

I am currently in a non compete clause. Not only can I not work for a competitor - it bans me from even working for myself.

[jimfields33]

1. I think there needs to be something that says you cannot discuss

Operations and procedures at the new company. That seems fair to both sides. If a person discusses trade secrets then they sue that person. I don’t see any other way that previous company is protected from trade secrets getting out.

[tulipsandroses]

3. Well thats what it used to be, now its just a chain around workers' necks

A lot of non compete clauses have nothing to do with trade secrets. There are no secret sauces to be revealed if you are lets say a hair stylist, manicurist.
I'm a nurse practitioner. There are no trade secrets in my line of work.
In certain industries, absolutely, you have to protect the business. But so much of this is about not wanting to spend the money to hire new people and making sure that they don't lose business to competitors. I can't solicit any of my patients to come to a new practice when I leave. But if patients want to keep seeing me and know that I am now working at Practice B, some of them may come to practice B to keep seeing me.
You build relationships with your medical providers and personal care providers. I had the same hair stylist and manicurist for years and would follow them if they changed salons.
And make no mistake, workers have been sued for violating these clauses. Simply for working for a competitor. There are people who will not work during the 2 year period or do some other line of work to avoid the headache of being sued.

[jimfields33]

4. I definitely don't think clients going "with you" should be banned.

And definitely progressions that don’t have tangible “next generation” item should not be penalized. But what about an Apple employee going to Microsoft? That’s a bit more sticky. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Mr.Bill]

6. If you're high up enough at Apple that you know

things that would hurt them if you went to Microsoft, I guess they better pay you enough to stay.

[tulipsandroses]

7. There will probably still be clauses that one has to sign regarding trade secrets, but

this is more about restoring workers' rights.
Getting fired or laid off does not nullify these contracts. If the company fires you, you still are not allowed to work for a competitor within a certain radius.

There are stories of people who pursued their dreams of opening their own businesses and were crushed by their former employers who sued them. From barbers to physicians.

[Mr.Bill]

5. That's what patents and copyrights are for.

A lot of those contracts didn't hold up in court anyway. It was discriminating against lower paid workers who couldn't hire an attorney to be allowed to work at a different sandwich shop.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. The restriction on non-competes is a good move