WeWork Scraps Strict Non-Compete Deals in N.Y. Settlement

(Bloomberg) -- WeWork Cos. reached a settlement agreement with New York to end its use of overly broad non-compete agreements for almost all of its employees, the state’s top law enforcement officer said.

The agreement releases 1,400 employees across the U.S. from non-compete agreements, and allows for less-restrictive pacts for another 1,800 employees, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Tuesday in a statement.

“Workers should be able to take a new job without living in fear of a lawsuit from their former employer,” Underwood said. "Yet too often, non-compete agreements are misused, especially when it comes to low-wage workers – limiting employees’ mobility and opportunity and preventing businesses from hiring the best person for the job."

"WeWork was already in the process of revamping our employee processes," the company said in a statement. "We are pleased to confirm that we now have updated documents developed collaboratively” with attorneys general in New York and Illinois.

The co-working company has about 2,300 employees in New York, according to the statement. The deal doesn’t apply to about 100 executive leadership employees, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net

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