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
Judge Preliminarily Pauses FTC Noncompete Ban as Applied to the Texas Challengers; Ruling on the Merits Expected in August
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
Federal Trade Commission Approves Final Rule Banning Nearly All Worker Non-Competes
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
All Employers May Be Impacted by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (the “Order”). This sweeping Order affirms that it is the policy of the President’s Administration to enforce the antitrust laws to combat concentration and abuses of economic power in a number of markets, including: labor, agriculture, healthcare (including i.e., hospitals, insurance, hearing aids and prescription drugs), repair, real estate brokerage, alcoholic beverage distribution, cable, internet, air travel, financial services, rail transport, and ocean shipping. This Order, among other things, mandates and/or encourages cabinet members and agency officials, including Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials, to conduct studies, issue reports, and consider rulemaking to ramp up enforcement of antitrust and related laws in these sectors of the American economy. The Order also reaffirms the authority of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FTC to challenge previously consummated mergers in all industries, including those that received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and to review, and likely strengthen, the Horizontal and Vertical Merger Guidelines.Continue Reading All Employers May Be Impacted by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy
Employers Beware: COVID-19 Will Not Excuse Wage or Labor Fixing Agreements
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