On February 26, 2025, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson directed the agency to form a new “Joint Labor Task Force” that will focus on enforcing federal antitrust laws to protect competition in labor...more
In a significant development for employers that use restrictive covenant agreements, on February 14, 2025, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel (GC) William B. Cowen rescinded prior NLRB GC memoranda,...more
Less than a week before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division jointly published guidelines on assessing whether business...more
1/27/2025
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchises ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trump Administration
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is appealing a Texas federal court ruling that struck down the FTC’s noncompete ban nationally, teeing the case up to be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit....more
A Pennsylvania company has dropped its challenge to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) noncompete ban after a Pennsylvania federal judge denied the company’s bid to block the rule. The dismissal of the Pennsylvania lawsuit...more
10/9/2024
/ Dismissals ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Statutory Authority ,
Unfair Competition
On August 14, 2024, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) efforts to implement a nationwide noncompete ban.
The Florida court’s decision...more
8/19/2024
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Compliance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Litigation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Stays ,
Unfair Competition
On July 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction staying enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule prohibiting noncompetition employment...more
On June 13, 2024, an administrative law judge (ALJ) for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that overly broad noncompete and nonsolicitation provisions in an employment agreement violated an employee’s labor...more
On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a final rule that effectively bans all non-compete agreements between employers and “workers” as “unfair method[s] of competition” and requires employers to refrain...more
5/28/2024
/ Corporate Executives ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Former Employee ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Popular ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted a final rule that effectively prohibits the use of almost all non-compete clauses....more
On April 16, 2024, more than fifteen months after issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking that would ban noncompetes and nearly a year after the comment period closed, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) issued a memorandum on May 30, 2023, declaring her opinion that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of noncompete agreements in employment contracts and...more
For many employers, a new year is a new opportunity to update policies, procedures, and agreements—including restrictive covenants. In addition to ensuring compliance with applicable state requirements as to timing,...more
On January 5, 2023, nearly eighteen months after President Biden signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair to “consider working with the rest of the Commission to exercise the FTC’s...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order aimed at promoting competition in the economy, including directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to consider exercising its rulemaking authority “to curtail the...more
On August 13, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 672, an amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act. While the law codifies substantive Illinois common law on restrictive covenants, it...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed a sweeping executive order aimed at promoting competition in the economy. The order includes 72 initiatives that President Biden says will address pressing competition problems and...more
Many employers want to prevent their trusted employees from leaving the company and poaching their employees. In Manitowoc Company, Inc. v. Lanning, No. 2015AP1530 (January 19, 2018), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin examined a...more