Jimmy John's no compete contracts lock employees into their low wage jobs. Moving only other option...maybe.

In the most bizarre punitive action against low wage part time workers, Jimmy John's is locking in their local labor force with no compete contracts. Small town or large, that might take you out of the labor force completely for awhile.

Workers are barred from working for similar sandwich shops or restaurants withing a 3 mile radius of either an employee's current location, or any other Jimmy John's location, for two years. The fact that there's a Jimmy John's every mile or so, that doesn't leave a lot of options for workers, does it? Move? What, on their wages? Jaw-dropping.

Ed Schultz talked to Wisconsin Jobs Now's Jennifer Epps-Addison about the impact on labor:

(Employees will) "not have any direct or indirect interest in or perform services for ... any business which derives more than ten percent (10%) of its revenue from selling submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches and which is located within three (3) miles of either [their current place of employment] or any such other Jimmy John's Sandwich Shop."

The thing is, no one ever thought an employer would go after labor like this:

Kathleen Chavez, the lawyer representing employees in the case, told HuffPo that the terms of the noncompete would prevent a former Jimmy John's employee from working in 6,000 square miles in 44 states and Washington, D.C.