You're Probably Getting Screwed by Non-Compete Clauses
Earlier this year the Federal Trade Commision proposed a rule to ban non-compete clauses. This proposed rule is a good thing and it should get enacted!
A non-compete agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee, which after the employment period is over the employee is restricted to do work that is directly or indirectly competing against the previous employer. These restrictions are often through time, industry, and/or geography.
There’s an idea out there that this is just for high paying white collar jobs. It’s not. According to Massachusetts Governor Healey, who previously served as Attorney General, 80% of fast food workers are constricted by no-poaching clauses.
The FTC says that approximately 18% of all US workers are covered by noncompetes and if this rule gets implemented that it will increase wages by nearly $300 billion per year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans.
There’s no doubt that huge corporations and their special interest groups are going to push back on this. Most likely they will say they need trade secret protection or this will hurt their intellectual property rights.
Here’s the thing, there are existing trade secret and intellectual property laws that will protect them. And if that’s not enough, they can tailor a non-disclosure agreement.
Bottom line, this proposed rule will benefit American workers and will benefit innovation by adding competition. Until then, workers will continue to get screwed!
YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:
MILLIONAIRE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN
When you’re worth over $52,000,000 and you make statements like “people want to work longer” as a reason to cut Social Security, you might be just a tad out of touch…
SCHOOL VOUCHERS
There’s a huge push in several state legislatures to pass unpopular school vouchers. “Vouchers don't raise student achievement. They promote discrimination against students w/ disabilities, hurt rural schools & subsidize wealthy families.” Fund public schools!
JOHN DEERE
John Deere has come to a Memorandum of Understanding American Farm Bureau Federation to abide by certain “right to repair” guarantees for farmers. It’s not uncommon for corporations to fall back on private-sector multiparty agreements in an attempt to stave off regulation. “John Deere is using the same playbook that we’ve seen from other companies with a monopolistic position,” said Daniel Hanley, a legal analyst at the Open Markets.
AMAZON
The Department of Labor is preparing to fine Amazon $60K for workplace safety hazards.
Recent injuries at a warehouse in Waukegan, IL include:
HEALTHCARE
Moderna is planning to charge $130 for its COVID vaccine, but the vaccine only costs $2.85 to make. Meanwhile, over the last two years, the company made over $19 billion in profits off the vaccine.
BEFORE YOU GO
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Standing Tall for All,
J.D. Scholten
