Employment Contracts

Federal court kills FTC noncompete ban

08/21/2024

A federal court in Texas has issued a summary judgment in a case challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s rule that would have banned noncompete agreements.

Prepare to notify current and past employees about FTC’s pending noncompete ban

08/19/2024

The Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning noncompete agreements is set to take effect Wednesday, Sept. 4. In addition to forbidding employers from enforcing existing noncompete agreements and requiring employees to sign new ones, the rule says employers must notify current and past employees who have signed noncompete agreements about the ban. Plan now to comply with the notification requirement—even though the rule may never go into effect.

Judge declines to block FTC noncompete ban, setting up potentially protracted legal fight

07/29/2024

ATS Tree Services asked Judge Kelley Hodge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the rule.

Court order signals FTC’s noncompete ban may be struck down

07/08/2024

A federal judge in Texas on July 3 issued a preliminary injunction that partially prohibits the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing a rule that bans employers from using noncompete agreements. The court’s ruling likely means the rule will be overturned before it takes effect in September.

Older workers could get new exemption from mandatory arbitration agreements

06/28/2024

Congress is considering legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration of disputes involving older workers covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

SHRM: HR opposes FTC’s ban on noncompetes

05/31/2024

The Society for Human Resource Management has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the Federal Trade Commission’s blanket prohibition on noncompete agreements.

4 questions and answers about FTC’s new noncompete ban

05/03/2024

On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule that bans almost all new noncompete agreements and makes existing ones unenforceable. FTC documents say the ban is necessary because requiring employees to sign noncompete agreements amounts to illegal restraint of trade.

FTC bans almost all noncompete agreements

04/26/2024

Almost all noncompete agreements will be banned under a final rule approved April 23 by the Federal Trade Commission. The rule will take effect 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which should happen within a week.

Regulate your use of noncompete agreements before the government does it for you

04/10/2024

Legally speaking, to be enforceable, a post-employment restrictive covenant must be narrowly tailored by time, geography and a reasonable business interest worthy of protection. Yet, like a recent example, all too often employers require too many employees to sign overly broad and overly restrictive agreements. It’s bullying and a scare tactic.

Prepare for FTC, states to ban noncompete agreements

03/13/2024

Typically state-regulated, noncompetes must cover a reasonable geographic area, be specific about the kind of work covered and expire after a reasonable time period. But the Biden administration generally views noncompete agreements as inherently anti-competitive and unfair when applied to workers in low-wage positions.