Prohibits agreements between employers that directly restrict the current or future employment of any employee; allows for a cause of action against employers who engage in such agreements.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
87
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, REYES, SAYEGH, STIRPE, SIMON, STECK,
CRUZ, GLICK, WEPRIN, ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred 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 5-338 to read as follows:
5 § 5-338. 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
20 subdivision (b) of this section may maintain an action for damages equal
21 to the sum of (i) any actual damages sustained by the individual as a
22 result of such violation, (ii) such amount of punitive damages as the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00895-01-5
A. 87 2
1 court may allow, and (iii) in the case of any successful action to
2 enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action
3 together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.
4 (d) Whenever the attorney general believes that there has been a
5 violation of this section, they may proceed as provided in subdivision
6 twelve of section sixty-three of the executive law.
7 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
