At the same time, such clauses can benefit employers, helping them protect client lists or trade secrets when employees leave, says Dawn Lanouette, a labor attorney with Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP in Binghamton.

“A well-written noncompete is designed to protect an employer,” she says, adding that noncompetes are the only way many employers feel comfortable sharing sensitive information with employees. But the reality is that many employers use them in a way that prohibits a former employee from working for anyone else, she notes.

That’s where the FTC comes in. The commission proposed in January to ban employers from imposing noncompetes, saying the ruling could increase wages by nearly $300 billion per year and expand the career opportunities for about 30 million people.

“The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a Jan. 5 release. “Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand.”

New York does currently enforce noncompetes, Lanouette says, but employers need to back them up with evidence of protected interests. They have to be reasonable in scope, both geographically and in length of time, she adds.

For example, if a Broome County software sales engineer had a noncompete saying she couldn’t work for another software company for two years within a 50-mile radius, her options would boil down to trying to fight the noncompete in court, changing careers, or moving, Lanouette says. That engineer might have a good case in court due to the restrictive nature of the noncompete.

“I think there are some legitimate concerns in how noncompetes are used,” Lanouette says. Employers can use other tools such as non-disclosure or non-solicitation agreements, that prohibit former employees from sharing sensitive information or soliciting customers and/or employees from their former employer.

The FTC’s rule would make it illegal for an employer to enter into or attempt to enter into a noncompete with an employee, maintain a noncompete, or represent to a worker — under certain circumstances — that the worker is subject to a noncompete.

The rule would apply to independent contractors, as well as any paid or unpaid employee and would require employers to rescind existing noncompetes and inform workers they are no longer in effect.

The change would not apply to other types of employment restrictions such as non-disclosure agreements, as long as they are not so broad in scope that they function as noncompetes.

As of press time, the FTC received more than 5,300 public comments on the proposed rule. Once the FTC has reviewed and responded to comments, it can make any modifications it deems necessary to the rule.

Occasionally, Lanouette says, the FTC will withdraw a proposed rule, “but I don’t see that happening here.”

She suspects when the new rule is formally published, the FTC will immediately be sued in response. Litigation could pause the rule while the issue is hashed out in court.

SYRACUSE — Syracuse–based Bowers & Company CPAs, PLLC has expanded its footprint into the Rochester marketplace.

The accounting firm has acquired Robinson & Gordon Certified Public Accountants, P.C. of Rochester in a deal that became effective Jan. 1, per its Jan. 23 announcement.

The two firms did not disclose financial terms of their agreement.

Bowers & Company CPAs — which provides tax, audit, and client accounting and advisory services — is headquartered at 120 Madison St. (Equitable Tower II) in Syracuse. The firm also operates an office at 1120 Commerce Park Drive East in Watertown.

Mark Robinson, CPA and Leslie Gordon, CPA founded their Rochester accounting practice 25 years ago. 

“Joining Bowers will allow us to expand our operational capacity, along with providing additional resources to assist our current and future clients… Although on January 1, 2023, our name was updated to Bowers, Leslie and I will remain stationed at the office, as Partners, supporting our clients and our team as we enter a new era,” Mark Robinson said in a news release. 

The acquisition did not represent a succession plan for Robinson and Gordon, the Bowers firm tells CNYBJ in an email. Besides Robinson and Gordon, the Rochester firm employed four accountants and one administrative assistant when the deal was finalized, Bowers added.

Launched in 1977, Bowers & Company has grown from a firm of less than 10 employees to its current size of 120 employees, including the new Rochester office. The accounting firm also has 22 spring interns getting learning experience during the “busy season,” a spokesperson tells CNYBJ. 

SYRACUSE — Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC started the new year with a new CEO leading the Syracuse–based accounting firm.

Carolyn Sturick had been the firm’s COO for the past 13 years. She succeeds Madelyn Hornstein, who has served as the firm’s CEO since 2010. 

As CEO, Sturick will focus on strategies to ensure continued growth, client success, and staff development, the firm said in its Jan. 18 announcement.

Sturick says she’s “looking forward” to leading Dermody, Burke & Brown as CEO. 

“I am confident in our talented team of employees here at Dermody, Burke & Brown and I am so honored to represent them,” Sturick said. “Our top priority is and will continue to be our clients and helping them achieve their goals.”

D

ermody, Burke & Brown has 81 employees, including 35 certified public accountants (CPAs), the firm tells CNYBJ.

Hornstein called it an “honor” to serve as the accounting firm’s CEO for more than a decade. 

“With my impending retirement at the end of 2023, it is important for the firm, our clients, and our staff to have a new leader in place to ensure a smooth transition,” Hornstein said. “Carolyn has been with the firm for over 33 years and in a leadership position for over 13 years. She has the respect of her clients and our staff. She is the perfect person to take over this position and I have no doubt will lead with integrity and continue to help our clients achieve success.”

Hornstein will continue to serve as a partner and support the new leadership team through 2023, the firm says.

Dermody, Burke & Brown has been serving the Central New York business community since 1956. With offices in Syracuse, Auburn, New Hartford, and Rome, Dermody Burke & Brown describes itself as “one of the largest independently locally owned accounting and business advisory firms in Central New York.”   

SYRACUSE — Barclay Damon LLP on Feb. 16 announced that Menachem Fischman has joined the law firm’s corporate practice area as an associate attorney.

His primary office is at the firm’s headquarters in Syracuse.

Fischman represents startups and established businesses in corporate, commercial, and investment transactions and provides general counsel to companies, entrepreneurs, and investors. He has experience representing clients in a range of industries in various types of domestic and cross-border equity and debt financings. 

Barclay Damon says it has nearly 300 lawyers firmwide in offices located across the Northeast in the United States and Toronto, Ontario.  

SYRACUSE — Harris Beach PLLC announced it has elected attorney Brian Roy as a partner in the law firm.

Roy focuses his practice on financial restructuring, bankruptcy, and creditors’ rights. Working from the firm’s Syracuse office, he represents creditors and debtors in bankruptcy cases across the country, according to a Harris Beach news release. Roy helps borrowers and lenders in pre-litigation and pre-bankruptcy financial workouts and insolvency matters, and develops and implements collection and litigation strategies. He also has extensive experience in handling Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 bankruptcy cases, as well as commercial litigation in New York state and federal courts.

Founded in 1856, Harris Beach and its subsidiaries provide legal and professional services to clients across New York state, as well as nationally and internationally. The law firm’s more than 210 lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, and White Plains. The firm also has locations in Washington, D.C.; New Haven, Connecticut; and Newark, New Jersey.         

ALBANY, N.Y. — A new state law that protects workers from retaliation against lawful absences from work went into effect Feb. 21.

The law (Senate Bill S1958A and Assembly Bill A8092B) was signed last November by Gov. Kathy Hochul. It clarifies that it’s illegal for employers to threaten, penalize, discriminate, or retaliate against employees for using absences protected under federal, state, or local law including time off covered by the New York State Paid Family Leave and New York State Paid Sick Leave.

“Employees should not have to fear for their jobs when taking legally protected time away from work,” New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said in a release. “This new law reassures our workforce that we value their work and their well-being.”

Under the new statute, employers are specifically prohibited from assigning or deducting points under an absence-control policy when an employee uses legally protected absences. Those are absences can include sickness, disability, pregnancy, caregiving obligations, domestic-violence leave, jury duty, voting leave, and blood-donor leave.

Employers who violate this law can face penalties of up to $10,000 for initial violations and up to $20,000 for subsequent violations. Impacted employees may also be eligible to receive back pay and damages. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against employees who assert their rights under the state labor law. Forms of retaliation may include alteration of work schedule, pay reduction, disciplinary action, or assignment to unfavorable duties.

In 2022, the Division of Labor Standards investigated more than 5,500 reports from workers of labor violations related to COVID-19 and New York State Paid Sick Leave.

More information about the new law is available at https://dol.ny.gov/retaliation.