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The National Labor Relations Board entered into a similar settlement with Planned Companies over the use of no-poach provisions after 32BJ SEIU filed an unfair labor practice charge on behalf of the workers. Above, 32BJ members rallied near Bryant Park last April.
A building services company has agreed to cancel existing no-poach agreements and to refrain from entering any new ones following a joint investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey.
The probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Federal Trade Commission found that Planned Building Services, among one of the largest building services contractors in the tri-state area, entered into illegal no-poach agreements with other companies in New York and New Jersey, according to a Monday press release announcing the settlement.
The use of no-poach agreements effectively reduces competition for employees by preventing competitors from hiring them and lowering wages, the attorneys general noted.
Planned Building Services did not admit to or deny any of the investigation’s findings, according to the settlement.
Planned Companies, of which Planned Building Services is a part, employs about 5,000 janitorial workers, concierge employees, security staff and other building service workers, according to the company’s LinkedIn page. As part of the settlement, Planned Companies agreed not to enter into, maintain or enforce any no-poach agreements with any of its competitors.
The company must also inform the attorneys general if a competitor tries to enter into a no-poach agreement during the next 10 years.
“The people who keep our apartment and office buildings running do essential work every day,” Attorney General James said in a statement. No-poach agreements “prevent workers from reaching their full potential by making it harder to find new jobs with better pay and benefits. Planned’s use of these illegal provisions in their employees’ contracts stifled their careers, but now we are putting a stop to them. I will continue to enforce the law to protect workers’ rights, and I thank Attorney General Platkin and our partners at the FTC for their collaboration on this investigation.”
Platkin echoed James and vowed to end the “unjust conditions.”
“No-poach agreements unfairly restrict workers’ ability to advance their careers, limiting access to better job opportunities, higher wages, and improved benefits. These unlawful practices undermine workers’ bargaining power, stifling their earning potential and professional growth,” the New Jersey AG said in a statement.
Planned agreed to terminate existing no-poach agreements within 30 days of the agreement, which took effect on Nov. 20.
Similar win for 32BJ workers
The attorneys general last month reached a similar settlement prohibiting the use of no-poach agreements with building services contractor Guardian Service Industries.
The National Labor Relations Board and the FTC also collaborated to reach a similar settlement with Planned Companies regarding no-poach agreements after 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union filed complaints on behalf of Planned workers with the NLRB.
The NLRB issued a complaint against Planned in September, and found that the company barred the buildings it worked with from hiring employees who they left their jobs at Planned. The NLRB settlement requires Planned to post a notice informing employees of their rights.
“This settlement demonstrates the ways that the NLRB remedies no-poach agreements that interfere with workers ability to exercise their labor rights” the board’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, said in a statement. “I am very grateful for the Region’s hard work and am very proud of our partnership with the FTC to unburden workers of the effects of these unlawful restrictions.”
Last month, Planned Companies reached a $145,000 settlement with the city comptroller’s office after the Bureau of Labor Law found that the company failed to pay prevailing wages and supplemental benefits to workers at two different properties.
Workers at 546 West 44th St. in Manhattan and 282 South Fifth St. in Brooklyn filed complaints with Comptroller Brad Lander, who required Planned Companies to train payroll employees on prevailing wage requirements, post notices on buildings where employees were subject to prevailing-wage rules and coordinate with the comptroller’s office on training for building service workers.
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