DeSantis should veto the CHOICE Act. It's bad for Florida business

The law wouldn’t help workers either.

Beware entrepreneurs, it’s about to get harder to start a business in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to sign the duplicitously named CHOICE Act — a law that greatly expands companies’ ability to enforce noncompetes against their employees. The result will be fewer opportunities for workers, reduced growth for businesses, and less innovation across the state.

Noncompetes are exactly what they sound — contracts that suppress competition. They prevent workers from accepting competitive offers or starting rival firms. Under Florida’s new law, employers can keep workers out of the market a full four years without pay. This leaves workers locked in, unable to pursue better career opportunities and without the leverage to insist on fair working conditions.

But workers are only the most obvious victim of noncompetes. Businesses — and ultimately consumers — suffer, too. That’s because a dynamic economy depends on a mobile labor market where talented workers are free to create new businesses, and new businesses free to hire needed talent. This is especially true in sophisticated, cutting-edge industries.

California proves the point. Known for its vibrant tech industry and flourishing start-up community, the Golden State is the largest U.S. economy to categorically ban noncompetes. That flexible labor policy facilitated the rise of Silicon Valley and continues to make California the country’s leader in innovation and technology.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2025/05/29/desantis-should-veto-choice-act-its-bad-business-column/

This bill will essentially treat employees as indentured servants to their corporate masters. There already are laws to prosecute intellectual property theft if an employee changes jobs to go work for the competition and brings along material taken from their previous employer.