News & Analysis as of

Unfair Competition Non-Compete Agreements

Vedder Price

FTC Again Targets Unfair Employee Non-Competes

Vedder Price on

In September 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) took steps to crack down on anticompetitive employee non‑competes even as the FTC abandoned the Biden Administration’s efforts to broadly ban them by rule. As a first...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

After Abandoning Its Court-Forestalled Nationwide Noncompete Ban, the FTC Is Now Signaling a Case-by-Case Enforcement Strategy for...

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

The FTC’s recent decision to dismiss its appeals in Ryan, LLC v. FTC and Properties of the Villages v. FTC formally ends the Biden administration’s attempt at a nationwide noncompete ban. Under former Chair Lina Khan, the FTC...more

Fisher Phillips

FTC Warns Healthcare Employers and Staffing Firms Over Noncompetes: 5 Takeaways + 5 Action Steps

Fisher Phillips on

Healthcare employers and the staffing firms who serve them should take note: federal authorities recently announced they will specifically target the use of noncompetes and other restrictive covenants in the healthcare space....more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

FTC Issues Letters to Healthcare Employers Regarding Non-Compete Agreements

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on September 5 that it was ending its appeals of decisions in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits which set aside the FTC nationwide non-compete ban thereby ending its defense...more

King & Spalding

FTC Warns Healthcare Employers Against Noncompetes

King & Spalding on

On September 10, 2025, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued letters to several healthcare employers and staffing companies urging them to carefully review their use of noncompetes or other restrictive terms in their...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

FTC Abandons 2024 Non-Compete Rule, Signals Priority in Non-Compete Enforcement Actions

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took steps to formally end its efforts to implement a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements, agreeing to vacate the Non-Compete Clause Rule and dismiss all pending...more

Hogan Lovells

FTC sets new course for enforcement of noncompete agreements

Hogan Lovells on

On September 5, the FTC ended the nearly 18-month legal purgatory for the agency’s Non-Compete Clause Rule, voting to withdraw its appeal of a Texas District Court’s decision setting aside the Rule, and accede to the Rule’s...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

FTC Abandons Non-Compete Prohibition

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) abandoned its quest to ban non-compete agreements, while also seeking dismissal of its appeals of courts decisions invalidating its non-compete ban rule. We reported on the FTC’s...more

Fisher Phillips

FTC Turns Up the Heat for Noncompete Enforcement: 5 Steps for Employers to Stay Compliant in a New Regulatory Era

Fisher Phillips on

The Federal Trade Commission just launched a new era of oversight when it comes to noncompete agreements between employers and employees, and the aggressive moves from the agency are turning some heads. On Thursday, it...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

FTC Prioritizes Aggressive Labor Market Enforcement With Focus on Noncompetes, Raising Antitrust Implications

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on September 4, 2025, that it had filed a complaint against one of the largest pet cremation businesses in the U.S., alleging that the company’s widespread use of noncompete...more

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

FTC Drops Its Non-Compete Ban, but Vows Continued Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has abandoned its defense of the rule proposed by the Biden Administration banning almost all employer-employee non-competes. As a result, the broad non-compete rule is dead. At the same...more

Cole Schotz

Florida’s CHOICE Act: Offering Unprecedented, New Tools to Employers to Prevent Unfair Competition

Cole Schotz on

As of its July 3, 2025 effective date, the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (“CHOICE”) Act dramatically overhauled Florida’s restrictive covenant framework. While many states...more

Stevens & Lee

The Administrative State, a Three-Legged Stool, the Supreme Court and FCC v. Consumers’ Research

Stevens & Lee on

The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down its decision in Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research, a case involving the question whether Congress’s delegation of authority to the FCC to implement provisions...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Employee Non-Competes: Where We Stand Today

Amundsen Davis LLC on

A little less than a year ago, businesses were scrambling to get ready for the then-impending Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule that would have blocked nearly all non-compete agreements between employers and...more

Venable LLP

More Red Tape on Colorado Noncompete and Nonsolicit Agreements

Venable LLP on

Colorado has taken another step toward narrowing the circumstances in which restrictive covenants—such as covenants not to compete and customer nonsolicits—may be used. Senate Bill 25-083, which takes effect August 6, 2025,...more

Littler

The (Less-Than-Golden) State of Confidentiality Provisions in California

Littler on

It is well known that California takes a dim view towards restrictive covenants in the workplace. Business & Professions Code Section 16600 prohibits employee non-compete agreements, stating that “every contract by which...more

Jenner & Block

Delaware Court Refuses to Enforce or Modify Overbroad Noncompete in Cleveland Integrity Services v. Byers

Jenner & Block on

In Cleveland Integrity Services, LLC v. Byers (Del. Ch. Feb. 28, 2025), the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to enforce a two-year non-compete agreement that it found to be geographically overbroad and refused to narrow or...more

Mintz

I Heart FTC: Proposed New York Bill Would Continue Biden FTC’s Antitrust Vision and Policies [Updated on July 16, 2025]

Mintz on

After the FTC issued a replacement of the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals on January 16, 2025, Commissioner – now Chair – Andrew N. Ferguson, joined by Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, punctuated his...more

Fisher Phillips

Will Florida’s New Non-Compete Bill Attract Tech Companies to the Sunshine State? A Thought Experiment

Fisher Phillips on

Florida just enacted a game-changer of a law that makes it the friendliest state in the country for enforcing non-competes – and could also revolutionize how tech companies view the Sunshine State as a place to set up...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Sausage Race Heats Up: Hormel Foods Sues Sausage Competitor Johnsonville Claiming Trade Secrets Misappropriation

Saul Ewing LLP on

Just in time for grilling season in the Midwest, Hormel Foods Corporation (“Hormel”) filed a federal lawsuit in the District of Minnesota against its competitor, Johnsonville, LLC (“Johnsonville”), and two former Hormel...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Employee pirates can plunder a business. Arrrgh ye ready?

Piracy is defined as robbery by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, with a goal of stealing cargo or other valuables. During the Golden Age of Piracy, from the 1680s to the 1720s, infamous...more

A&O Shearman

New York State Court Finds Violation Of Donnelly Act Stemming From Ski Area Acquisition

A&O Shearman on

On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Onondaga, rendered a decision involving an alleged anticompetitive acquisition under New York’s Donnelly Act. This decision demonstrates the...more

Bennett Jones LLP

BC Court of Appeal Confirms “No hire” Clause Not Intended to Injure Employees

Bennett Jones LLP on

In Latifi v The TDL Group Corp., 2025 BCCA 45, (Latifi) the BC Court of Appeal upheld the summary dismissal of a proposed class action against the Tim Hortons franchisor in Canada. The underlying dispute between the...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Timeline: What Happens After Breaking a Non-Compete Agreement in Texas

Hendershot Cowart P.C. on

Responding to a Non-Compete Violation - When an employer discovers a potential non-compete violation, they generally react within 1-4 weeks, though this can be shorter if the violation poses an immediate competitive threat....more

Hogan Lovells

FTC Chair announces Joint Labor Task Force, commits to facilitating President Trump’s war on DEI

Hogan Lovells on

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under the new leadership of Republican Chair Andrew Ferguson, has announced the formation of a Joint Labor Task Force to “prioritize rooting out and prosecuting deceptive, unfair, and...more

584 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 24

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide