Monday, April 9, 2018

Sinclair Broadcast and Its (Alleged) Non-Compete Agreement

Until about a week ago, few of us had ever heard of Sinclair Broadcast Group. That is, until this video went viral.

The video shows local news anchors in a bizarre montage reading precisely the same script about news outlets pushing "irresponsible" stories to push fake news without appropriate fact-checking. Predictably, this generated a response among more prominent news outlets, some of whom took their local broadcast colleagues to task for not standing up to a corporate mandate.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that there may be a reason why those local anchors did not stand up and quit their jobs. The cost of doing so appears to be fairly steep. Bloomberg News reported that Sinclair employees sign contracts with 6-month non-compete clauses and liquidated damages clauses that call for repayment of up to 40 percent of annual compensation for quitting outside of a notice period.

The Bloomberg News article cites one example where Sinclair attempted to enforce a liquidated damages clause against a Florida news anchor who quit in disgust over some Sinclair tactics. The amount sought was quite low, however. Still, for some seasoned on-air talent, a repayment clause could be enough to deter an employee from quitting on principle.

The non-compete issue is an interesting one as well, though. Many states, including Illinois, prohibit non-compete arrangements in the broadcast industry. Sinclair is trying to buy the Tribune Media group, which means it would own Chicago's revered WGN.

Its apparent use of non-competes would run into a problem with WGN's on-air talent under the Broadcast Industry Free Market Act. That statute prohibits the use of non-compete agreements for television, radio, and cable station talent. It does not apply to sales or management employees. And if Sinclair were to violate the Act, it would be liable for both damages and attorneys' fees.

A number of other states, including New York and Massachusetts, also bar broadcast industry non-competes. California does so too by virtue of its general law banning restrictive covenants in employment.

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