A few days before Christmas, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered a lump of coal to a large swath of New Yorkers.

Hochul vetoed a bill last week that would have imposed a statewide ban on non-compete agreements, which tend to prevent workers from leaving their job to work for a rival company.

This veto came despite a letter from the Federal Trade Commission last month, which urged Hochul to sign the bill into law.

The FTC says that in addition to curbing the creation of new businesses and potentially harming innovation, non-compete clauses in contracts are “exploitative and coercive, both at the time of contracting and at departure.”

When we talk about non-compete agreements, we tend to think of senior executives or highly-paid Wall Street-types, but according to the FTC, one in five Americans are now bound by these agreements. Approximately 53% of workers operating under non-complete agreements nationwide are hourly workers. The FTC estimated that banning non-compete agreements nationwide could increase workers’ earnings by approximately $250 billion to $296 billion per year.

“… Because non-compete clauses decrease mobility and competition in the labor market, these clauses lower wages for both workers who are and are not subject to them,” the FTC wrote.

By vetoing this bill, Hochul seems to have capitulated to Wall Street and top business groups. These groups have been lobbying against this bill for months, arguing that non-compete agreements protect inside information, are necessary to retain top talent, and protect investment strategies.

In explaining her rationale, Hochul said she tried to negotiate a “reasonable compromise” with the Legislature, but the end result was a bill she called a “one-size-fits-all-approach.”

That phrase is interesting: As many North Country residents know well, many decisions at the state level take a “one-size-fits-all-approach” that fails to take into account the different needs and realities of rural areas and metropolitan hubs. Why that would be a deal-breaker in this case isn’t really clear.

“I continue to recognize the urgent need to restrict non-compete agreements for middle-class and low-wage workers, and am open to future legislation that achieves the right balance,” Hochul wrote in a veto letter released over the weekend.

In passing this bill, the Legislature made a choice to join California — which has a longstanding ban on non-compete agreements — and be a leader for worker’s rights. Instead, New Yorkers laboring under these agreements will continue to miss out on gaining leverage to improve their careers and income.

Businesses are the backbone of our economy, but workers are its lifeblood.