Ken Griffin’s Citadel is putting its Florida lobbying muscle behind an effort to allow four-year non-compete clauses and garden leaves in its home state, tightening employers’ hold on well-paid staffers and executives considering defection.
The bill has cruised through the legislature and is awaiting the governor’s signature, with supporters saying it will make the state more appealing to companies at risk of losing an edge if key employees jump to rivals.
The measure allows four-year restrictions in contracts with people earning at least double the average local wage — typically more than $140,000 in urban areas. It also accelerates court orders blocking defectors from performing similar work elsewhere or barring competitors from hiring them.
Griffin’s lobbyists helped shape the bill’s language and have advocated for it alongside broader business groups including the Associated Industries of Florida, which supported it in legislative hearings, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort, who asked not to be named discussing nonpublic talks. The measure isn’t limited to the financial industry.
A spokesperson for Citadel declined to comment. A representative for the AIF, which doesn’t disclose its members, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
“It’s extremely friendly toward employers,” said James Valentino, an employment lawyer with Clayman Rosenberg Kirshner & Linder. “Florida is known for that, but this takes it to a different level.”
It’s the latest show of the billionaire investor’s influence in his new home state, where he has made himself the de-facto leader of Wall Street South. Since Griffin, 56, moved Citadel’s headquarters to Miami from Chicago a few years ago, he has shaped local politics and policy through lobbying and millions of dollars in political donations.
For backers, the bill is an attempt to ensure a favorable state-level solution for employers in what’s become a hot topic in labor law after the Federal Trade Commission tried to bar many non-compete agreements last year. The FTC ban was halted in court, but the agency is appealing. Meanwhile, dozens of states have followed the agency’s lead, floating laws to rein in non-competes.
