The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to strike down a federal agency’s near-total ban on employers requiring workers to sign agreements not to join rivals or launch competing businesses.
The Chamber’s lawsuit in federal court in Tyler, Texas, alleges that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission lacks the power to adopt sweeping rules such as the ban on so-called noncompete agreements released on Tuesday, which is set to take effect in August.
On one hand, businesses want to ensure that their investments in training and their corporate secrets are not walking out the door and into the hands of their competition. On the other hand, businesses can use other means to help mitigate that without removing the freedom of employment choice of their employees. You don’t get to require an agreement that effectively locks your employees to your business, especially when employees do not get guarantees of continued employment in return.
Imagine being laid off by your company and simultaneously being contractually restricted from seeking a similar position with another company. At best, you may need to move far away. At worst, you may need to find a completely new way to make a living. None of that was your fault or choice. You were obligated to sign the non-compete to get any job at all in your field. That’s the truth for millions.
Employers cannot hold all the cards.
especially when employees do not get guarantees of continued employment in return.
Dingdingdingdingding. Give the man a cigar.
If you want to give me tenure, I’ll think about non-competing. Otherwise, the free market these bastards claim to like so much is a two way street.
Just signing an NDA should be sufficient.
Correct. But I’m sure their argument would be something to the effect that they wouldn’t reasonably be able to know what the former employee actuality disclosed to their competitor and would be even less likely to be able to prove it making the NDA unactionable and functionally useless in that case. That’s why they’d rather prevent you from working for the other company altogether to avoid that. Unfortunately for them, they’re just going to have to trust their former employees. Which probably also means they should treat them well so they’re not incentivized to fuck them over.
Competition is good? Huh, what a novel idea.
It’s only good when it benefits companies and rich people. If it helps us peons, it’s bad.
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Non competes are anti capitalism.
Isn’t competition a core ideology of capitalism?
Exactly.
Filed in Tyler, TX because of course it is. Looking to get an immediate injunction and favorable ruling from their favorite federal judge.
That Chamber of Commerce L O V E S judge shopping.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce can suck it.
Someone in the thread about this yesterday said, “lawsuit incoming in 3, 2, 1…”
