On February 16, 2023 (from noon to 3:00 PM ET), the FTC will be holding a “public forum” on its proposed noncompete ban. If you are interested in speaking at it, you will need to reserve a spot.
Episode 21 of Fairly Competing is out! Join us in a discussion with Professor Evan Start about the research behind the FTC’s proposed noncompete ban.
The deadline to comment on FTC’s proposed rule to ban noncompetes may be extended to May 19. Make sure your voice is heard, whether joining us in our letter or separately.
The FTC’s proposed rule to ban noncompetes will publish in the federal register tomorrow. If you care, you have until March 20 (assuming no extensions) to make sure your voice is heard. You are welcome to join us in our letter.
Forty-seven state legislatures as well as Washington, D.C. – with the approval of Congress – have spent years honing their noncompete laws to fit their local communities and industries. In one fell swoop, three Commissioners at the FTC are proposing to undo all of it. With it, they will also eliminate the use of a broad swath of nondisclosure, nonsolicitation, no-service, no-recruit, and no-hire agreements. Companies have six things they need to do now.
US Rep Spartz sent a brief letter to the FTC raising concerns about the proposed rule to ban noncompetes.
Episode 20 of Fairly Competing is out! Join us to hear about the FTC’s recent proposed noncompete ban and enforcement actions and what to do about them.
Today, the FTC took the unprecedented step of proposing a rule that would essentially ban all employee noncompetes — and other agreements if they can be interpreted as a “de facto” noncompete.
Well, we now know what the FTC will do about companies using noncompetes: They are bringing enforcement actions against them. And, this is likely just the beginning.
Eleven states plus Washington, D.C. now have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. Are your noncompetes compliant?
A new federal bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to ban noncompetes — both retroactively and prospectively — for nonexempt workers.
Knowing the noncompete and trade secret laws across 50 states, plus D.C., is no easy task. And keeping track of the flood of changes in recent years makes it all the more difficult. Unfortunately, it’s not something you can ignore. Because of this, we have created several resources that make the task easier. We hope you find them helpful.
There has been a lot of legislative, regulatory, and judicial activity around noncompetes over the past two months or so. Here is a summary.
As noted in our post, Ask 70 Trade Secret Lawyers and Paralegals about Noncompetes and Get One Opinion, the FTC and DOJ encouraged the submission of public comments following the “Making Competiti...
Happy holidays! Episode 13 of Fairly Competing is out! In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell take a look back on some of the more significant developments in trade secret and restrictive coven...
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) just completed their second workshop on competition.[1] Noncompetes are again squarely in the crosshairs. Here is what you need to know and what you need to do.
The FTC's and DOJ’s December 6 and 7 Virtual Public Workshop Exploring Competition in Labor Markets is almost here, and the agenda has been released. While it’s quite possible that noncompete...
As we await the FTC and DOJ’s December 6 and 7 Virtual Public Workshop Exploring Competition in Labor Markets, it’s important to know that on November 12, the FTC posted a draft Strategic Plan fo...
The FTC and DOJ will be hosting a two-day workshop on December 6 and 7 covering, among other things, the use of noncompetes and NDAs.
As we look at recent developments in noncompete regulatory efforts at the state and federal levels, it’s good to have a quick reminder of how we got here. We’ll take a quick tour of noncompete regulation from the Middle Ages to now.
Contracts containing restrictive covenants (noncompetes, nonsolicitation agreements, and the like) have been the province of state regulation for over 200 years. However, starting in 2015, the federal government has been stepping into the breach through proposed legislation (most recently two bills to ban all employee noncompetes and one to amend the FLSA to ban noncompetes for nonexempt workers), FTC review (starting with a workshop in January 2020), and an Executive Order (on July 9, 2021) “encouraging” the FTC to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses . . . .” While that’s not news, what is news is that earlier this week (September 14, 2021), the FTC issued a public statement that — if it is as broad as it appears — seems to presume that the FTC has authority to regulate these types of contracts.
A recent paper, “The Ethics of Noncompete Clauses,” by University of Georgia Professor Harrison Frye, expands the policy discussion around noncompetes, and argues for a more thoughtful analysis. As Professor Frye details, seeing noncompetes “as solely advancing the interests of employers is myopic.”
Misconceptions about noncompetes abound. And, as noncompete agreements are increasingly in the cross-hairs of the media and legislators, it has become increasingly clear that some of the most vocal de...
As of Friday (July 16, 2021), we again have competing approaches to federal legislation proposing limits on noncompetes. In addition to the previously reintroduced Workforce Mobility Act, proposing an outright ban, Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have now reintroduced the Freedom to Compete Act to ban noncompetes for most workers who are not exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.