This morning, a Texas federal judge put the brakes on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) previous ruling that would have banned most non-compete agreements for workers across the U.S. Originally set to go into effect on September 4, the rule aimed to stop around 30 million workers—nearly 18% of the workforce—from these contracts. While there was an exception for senior executives making over $151,164 annually, the rule would have wiped out non-competes for most other employees, even retroactively. With this latest legal maneuver, the rule is now on hold, and the battle over its future is heating up, likely heading to the Supreme Court.
When the rule was first proposed, EWTC formed a working group, submitting comments to the FTC, highlighting the potential risks to companies that rely on protecting intellectual property and advanced technologies. Of particular interest to our members, was that the final rule didn’t include the carve-out for positions dealing with IP that many had hoped.
We will continue to keep our members updated on these developments.
Karina Erickson, Communications Director, writes about the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
