January 20, 2010, Introduced by Senators BASHAM and HUNTER and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Tourism.
A bill to amend 1984 PA 274, entitled
"Michigan antitrust reform act,"
by amending section 4a (MCL 445.774a), as added by 1987 PA 243.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
4a. (1) An Except as otherwise
provided in this section,
an employer may obtain from an employee an agreement or covenant
which
that protects an employer's reasonable competitive
business
interests and expressly prohibits an employee from engaging in
employment or a line of business after termination of employment if
the agreement or covenant is reasonable as to its duration,
geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business.
To the extent any such agreement or covenant is found to be
unreasonable in any respect, a court may limit the agreement to
render it reasonable in light of the circumstances in which it was
made and specifically enforce the agreement as limited.
(2) A broadcast industry employer shall not require a
broadcast employee or prospective broadcast employee to agree to
and shall not include in an employment contract or agreement any of
the following:
(a) A restriction on the right of the broadcast employee to
obtain employment in a specified geographic area for a specified
time after termination of employment by the employer, by mutual
agreement, or by expiration of the employment contract.
(b) A requirement to disclose the existence of, or the terms
or conditions of, any offer of employment the broadcast employee or
prospective employee may receive from any other broadcast industry
employer.
(c) A requirement to agree to enter into a subsequent
employment contract with the broadcast industry employer or to
extend or renew the existing employment contract on the same terms
and conditions offered to the broadcast employee by a prospective
employer.
(3) A contract term prohibited by subsection (2) is void and
unenforceable. A person who violates this section is liable for
civil damages, and, in addition, the court shall award an
individual who prevails in an action for a violation of subsection
(2) reasonable attorney fees and costs of litigation.
(4) As used in this section:
(a) "Broadcast employee" means any employee of a broadcast
industry employer except an employee providing primarily sales or
management functions.
(b) "Broadcast industry employer" means the owner or operator
of 1 or more broadcast television or radio stations, excluding an
entity that distributes programming to 2 or more cable systems, as
defined in 47 USC 522.
(5)
(2) This section shall apply Subsection (1) applies to
covenants
and agreements which that are entered into after March
29, 1985. Subsections (2) and (3) apply to contracts and agreements
that are entered into after April 1, 2010.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect April 1,
2010.