Marco Rubio Introduces Anti-Noncompete Bill In Congress

In a possible sign of the apocalypse, I actually agree with something my state's Senator, Sen. Marco Rubio, has done. I'm stunned but pleasantly surprised that he has introduced something to help working people, despite being the senator for very anti-employee Florida.

Senator Rubio has introduced the Freedom To Compete Act, a bill that would prohibit employers from forcing exempt workers from entering into noncompete agreements. That means no hourly employees would be required to sign terrible agreements prohibiting them from switching jobs for higher wages and better working conditions. No more noncompete agreements for sandwich makers.

The bill, which you can read in its entirety here, has some interesting features:

• It's an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• It voids all noncompete agreements for non-exempt employees and prohibits employers from entering into, extending or renewing noncompete agreements.
• The only employees it does not apply to are "any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity (including any employee employed in the capacity of academic administrative personnel or teacher in elementary or secondary schools), or in the capacity of outside salesman."
• No jail time for violations, but "legal and equitable relief."
• The Department of Labor can enforce.

It doesn't have any penalties for violations, so employees would have to show damages. Plus most employers just send the nasty-gram to new or potential employers and threaten to sue them, their mother and their dog unless they fire the employee, so the employee is fighting from the position of being unemployed. Most employees can't afford to fight noncompetes. This might help some if they can actually get DOL to assist with enforcement.

Is it perfect? No. Is it a good start? Heck yeah.

Since it was introduced by a Republican, I'd give it slightly better than a snowball's chance of passing. Other attempts by Democrats have failed miserably, so it's good to see something happening on the other side to curtail abusive noncompetes. One Democratic attempt last year would have banned almost all noncompetes. Al Franken's bill after the sandwich noncompete scandal would have banned noncompetes for employees making $15/hour or less and require employers to disclose that noncompetes would be required as a condition of taking a job. This one would actually help more employees than Sen. Franken's bill, so yay.

If you think a Republican doing something pro-employee is a good thing, call and write your senators to ask them to support Sen. Rubio's bill, and tell @marcorubio thanks. Let's encourage pro-employee behavior!

Props to my Senator, Sen. Marco Rubio, for trying to help U.S. working people!