Is This the Last Gasp? FTC Makes One Last Plea to Get Its Noncompete Ban Back on Track

In a last ditch effort to revive its covenant not to compete ban, the Lina Kahn-led FTC is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a federal district court ruling that halted the FTC ban. This happens within two weeks of an overhaul of FTC leadership once the Trump administration takes over.

We reported on both the ban and the court’s halting of the ruling in a blog post earlier and will continue to follow the issue. It is likely that the new FTC leader will be a Republican, but the current makeup of the five-member commission remains three Democrats and two Republicans. It remains to be seen what effect the change in leadership will have on this issue.

As I noted in my  previous blog, “In my opinion, this rule banning noncompetes has been an intrusion into the operations of the U.S. economy that is unprecedented. I am hopeful that this disruptive rule will ultimately be set aside by the Supreme Court. If it is not, it could embolden the FTC and other agencies to meddle in the operations of a free economy in the United States.”