As reported in our prior Alert, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to approve a final rule:
- Banning noncompete agreements with virtually all workers 120 days after publication in the Federal Register (i.e., on September 4, 2024);
- Invalidating existing noncompetes with all workers except senior executives; and
- Requiring employers to send a clear and conspicuous notice to affected workers, by the effective date, that the worker's noncompete clause will not be, and cannot legally be, enforced.
At least three challenges to the noncompete ban have been filed in federal courts since that time, but none have yet succeeded in halting the ban nationwide. As reported in our recent Alert, on July 3, 2024, in the Ryan lawsuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the FTC from enforcing its noncompete ban and stayed the ban as to the parties to that lawsuit, but refused to issue a nationwide injunction or stay that would apply to other employers. On the heels of the decision in Ryan, on July 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, et al., denied the plaintiff's motion seeking a nationwide injunction and stay, dealing a further blow to efforts to halt the noncompete ban.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.