FTC Noncompete Ban Blocked

A U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Texas recently blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ban on noncompete agreements for most employees. The court plans to rule on the case’s merits by Aug. 30.

U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown in Dallas said in a written decision that the FTC, which enforces federal antitrust laws, lacked the power to adopt broad rules prohibiting practices that it deems unfair methods of competition.

Roughly 30 million people, or 20% of U.S. workers, have signed noncompete agreements, according to the FTC.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), along with 10 other trade associations, filed an amicus brief in May that argued the FTC’s proposal relied on cherry-picked data and overstepped the agency’s authority.

To read more about the FTC final rule on noncompete agreements, click here. For more information, contact TRSA’s Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Schwalb at kschwalb@trsa.org.