Labor & Employment Developments Blog

After a summer of speculation, businesses and individuals across the country were provided some clarity as the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule invalidating millions of non-compete agreements was struck down by a federal district court. The FTC’s rule—which largely invalidated non-compete agreements—was announced in April and set to take effect on September 4, 2024. Since that announcement, however, multiple lawsuits have been filed against the FTC, challenging its rulemaking authority to impose this sweeping new rule. In the months that followed, all eyes have been on the courts to see whether the rule would take effect as scheduled.

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) push to invalidate non-compete agreements for millions of workers gained steam today, courtesy of a ruling out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As noted by this blog, in April of 2024 the FTC announced a final Rule largely invalidating non-compete agreements across the country. In the aftermath of that announcement multiple lawsuits were filed against the FTC, seeking to enjoin enforcement of this Rule. 

Earlier this month, opponents of the FTC’s Rule were offered a glimmer of hope when the U.S. District Court for the Northern ...

If you follow the news, you are probably aware that non-compete agreements are under attack on several levels. This episode will consider three primary sources of these attacks on non-compete agreements:

1. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Proposed Rule banning non-compete agreements;
2. The NLRB General Counsel Memorandum GC 23-08 (May 30, 2023) indicating that non-compete agreements may violate section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act; and
3. State laws banning or curtailing enforcement of non-compete agreements.

See the FTC Proposed Rule here.

See the NLRB General Counsel ...