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Cody Rockey

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Whether representing clients in antitrust matters or in complex commercial litigation, Cody understands that his clients need understandable, actionable guidance to make informed business decisions and chart a course forward. They require counsel who can analyze potential risks and roadblocks and then implement strategies to mitigate the former and overcome the latter.

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Takeaways

  • The FTC’s withdrawal of its broad non-compete ban does not signal a retreat from enforcement—in fact, the agency is sharpening its focus.
  • Recent FTC actions show a clear shift toward targeted, case-by-case challenges to non-compete agreements deemed unfair or overbroad.
  • A new FTC complaint highlights the agency’s concern with blanket non-competes applied without regard to job role or responsibility.

It would not be unreasonable to question the future of FTC enforcement against non-compete agreements after the FTC abandoned the prior administration’s rule banning nearly all employee non-compete agreements.[1] But the FTC has signaled its intent to continue enforcement against those non-compete agreements that unreasonably restrain employment options in a more targeted, case-by-case manner under Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45).Continue Reading FTC Signals Continued Scrutiny of Employee Non-Compete Agreements

Yesterday, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning nearly all employee non-compete agreements from taking effect on September 4, 2024. The case, Ryan LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, Case No. 3:24-cv-00986 (N.D. Tex.), was brought by a Texas tax preparation company and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This ruling was widely expected because the court issued an order in July 2024 that blocked the FTC from applying the rule as to the plaintiff, but signaled that it would decide whether to issue a broader injunction before the FTC rule took effect. It followed through, and you can read the court’s opinion here.Continue Reading Federal Court Blocks FTC Rule Banning Employee Non-Competes

On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction in Ryan et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, preventing the FTC’s rule banning most noncompetes from going into effect, but only for the party who brought the litigation challenging the rule, Ryan, Inc. The Court promised that it would enter a final ruling on the merits of the action by August 30, 2024—just days before the FTC rule is set to go into effect. That final ruling likely will have implications for the rule’s enforceability throughout the nation.Continue Reading Judge Preliminarily Pauses FTC Noncompete Ban as Applied to the Texas Challengers; Ruling on the Merits Expected in August

In an open commission meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-to-2 to ban nearly all non-compete agreements between employers and workers (broadly defined to include employees, independent contractors, and others, whether paid or unpaid). The effective date of the final rule could be on or about August 23, 2024, depending on the success of legal challenges, which have already commenced. Continue Reading Federal Trade Commission Approves Final Rule Banning Nearly All Worker Non-Competes

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have made it clear that they will act to protect employees on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19. On the one hand, as we explained in a prior client alert, they previously announced pre-clearance procedures and other guidelines intended to make it easier for companies to collaborate in legitimate, pro-competitive ways. In their latest announcement, the DOJ and FTC warned that they would not hesitate to protect all employees from companies that use COVID-19 as an excuse to collude in fixing wages, benefits, hours worked, or other aspects of employment. Given the government’s prior focus on antitrust issues in the labor market, including their prior indication that they will pursue criminal remedies where appropriate, employers must be more careful than ever to ensure that they do not run afoul of antitrust laws in this area.
Continue Reading Employers Beware: COVID-19 Will Not Excuse Wage or Labor Fixing Agreements