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One to Keep An Eye On: Mobility and Opportunity for Vulnerable Employees (MOVE) Act


Recently, Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut) and Senator Al Franken (Minnesota) introduced a new bill, the Mobility and Opportunity for Vulnerable Employees (MOVE) Act, which would enable low wage workers to seek employment elsewhere, without being restricted by non-compete agreements.  Note, the bill is co-sponsored by fellow Democratic Senators, Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut).   

Some readers might have heard of a report late last year that Jimmy John's required their workers to sign non-competes which would prohibit their employees from working for a sandwich competitor for two years following employment at Jimmy John's.  (Jimmy John's Non-Competes).  Yes, sadly that is a real story...

This proposed MOVE Act would ban the use of non-competes by employers, like Jimmy John's, in relation to employees making less than $15/hour, $31,200/year, or the minimum wage in the employee's municipality, and would require employers to notify prospective employees that they may be asked to sign a non-compete agreement.  If passed, this would be a significant stake in the heart of non-competes.  Granted, it would not impact many workers (particularly those in the tech industry where non-competes are more common).  

With that being said, this would certainly be an interesting development.  Should it come to pass, it could spur additional bills to further limit non-competes in other fields.  But that is getting ahead of the curve here...let's see whether this bill advances.


For additional information:  http://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-franken-introduce-bill-to-ban-non-compete-agreements-for-low-wage-workers

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