Commissioners approved the historic regulation on the grounds that noncompetes stifle competition for workers. A legal challenge is all but certain.

The FTC’s three Democratic members were in favor of adopting the regulation, while its two Republican members were against it.

…

“The FTC estimated that the ban would boost wages by between $400 billion and $488 billion over 10 years.”

Employers are required to tell people that existing noncompetes are void:

The new rule makes it illegal for employers to include the agreements in employment contracts and requires companies with active noncompete agreements to inform workers that they are void. The agency received more than 26,000 comments about the rule after it was proposed some 16 months ago. The rule will take effect after 120 days, although business groups have promised to challenge it in court, which could delay implementation.

New York Times coverage for comparison

  • @[email protected]English
    26•8 months ago

    The Jimmy John’s noncompete barred workers from taking a job at a competing business within two years of leaving. It defined a competitor as any business that is located within 3 miles of a Jimmy John’s and derives at least 10% of its revenue from “submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches.”

    Wouldn’t want Subway to steal those sandwich secrets.