 Some modern contracts between American workers and their employers resemble medieval practices. EPA/TOMASZ WASZCZUK By Matt O'Brien If some employers had their way, you would have to pledge eternal fealty to them just to get a paycheck. You would bend the knee, bow your head, and swear to serve them faithfully, now and forever, even if someone else tried to hire you away for more money. And in return for this loyalty, you of course would get none. Your company could fire you whenever it wanted and wouldn't have to take care of you when you got old. If you were really lucky, it might, just might, give you a small 401(k) match. In other words, it'd be capitalism for bosses, and feudalism for workers. Now, as much as this might sound like a caricature, it's actually the way things are in Idaho. Well, except maybe for the genuflecting. As the New York Times's Conor Dougherty reports, the state's noncompete laws are so strict that people can't leave their jobs for a new one unless they can show that it wouldn't "adversely affect" their current employer. That's an impossible standard that would leave workers — and, more to the point, their wages — entirely at the mercy of their bosses. This is not, to put it mildly, the way things are supposed to work. Read the rest on Wonkblog. |
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