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The Employer Handbook BlogThe FTC Continues Cracking Down on No-Hire Agreements
No-hire agreements have quietly lived in vendor and service contracts for years.
The FTC has now made clear that they are an active antitrust enforcement target. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Non-Competition
Warning letters are the FTC’s latest prescription for noncompete abuse in healthcare
The FTC just made clear that while the nationwide noncompete ban is dead, the agency is not backing down. Employers, particularly in healthcare, are officially on notice. Continue reading
A Eulogy: “Noncompete Rule, We Hardly Knew Ye”
It promised freedom, delivered litigation, and left us with… state law. Continue reading
Employers, Take Note: A New FTC Noncompete Inquiry Could Shape Compliance
The Federal Trade Commission isn’t finished with noncompetes. It is gathering information to understand when these agreements cause real harm and when they may serve legitimate business purposes. Case in point: its latest enforcement action against an employer that allegedly relied on broad, boilerplate restrictions. Continue reading
🚨 The Supreme Court Just Took Aim at Nationwide Injunctions. Could the FTC’s Noncompete Rule Rise from the Dead?
Most people didn’t connect the dots between last week’s Supreme Court decision in Trump v. CASA and the FTC’s ban on noncompetes.
But maybe they should.
The Court’s ruling didn’t mention employment law. It didn’t say a word about the FTC. But it did take a wrecking ball to the kind of court order that’s currently keeping the FTC’s rule on ice. And that could matter—eventually. Continue reading
What Delaware’s Latest Decision Teaches About Drafting Enforceable Noncompetes and Nonsolicits
Noncompetes are under pressure. Federal regulators have wanted to ban them. States like California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma already have. And even where they remain technically legal, courts are increasingly skeptical—especially when the restrictions go further than necessary. Continue reading
FTC’s Non-Compete Ban: Have We Reached A U-Turn or Just a Detour?
As Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.” Employers waiting on the uncertain fate of the Federal Trade Commission’s non-compete rule can relate. With the initial sweeping ban announced in 2024 and legal challenges that followed, many businesses have been left wondering how to structure their workforce policies. Now, recent developments suggest that the FTC may be rethinking its approach, offering some clarity—though not yet certainty.
A New FTC Memo
The FTC has recently taken steps to address non-compete agreements, a long-debated issue in the job market. In a memo dated February 26, 2025, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson announced the creation of a Joint Labor Task Force to look into unfair labor practices, with non-compete agreements highlighted as a key focus. The memo states that non-compete agreements can impose unnecessary, burdensome restrictions on workers, limiting their ability to switch jobs and negotiate higher wages. The task force is charged with investigating these agreements, sharing research on their impact, and recommending regulatory or legislative actions to address abusive practices.
Think the FTC is done taking on restrictive covenants? Think again!
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had ordered a building services contractor to stop enforcing a no-hire agreement. The agreement purportedly prohibited building owners and managers from hiring the contractor’s employees.
The FTC is all-in on its proposed noncompete ban, appealing the nationwide injunction against it.
On Friday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission notified a federal judge in Texas who had previously entered a nationwide injunction against its sweeping noncompete ban that the agency would appeal her decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Continue reading
The FTC is appealing one of its non-compete losses. Should employers be nervous?
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission filed a notice of appeal with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, signifying that it will ask the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a trial judge’s August 15 decision to enjoin enforcement of its sweeping noncompete ban.
Should this concern employers? I’ll give you three reasons why it shouldn’t.