The FTC announced yesterday that it was extending the deadline to submit public comments on its proposed rule banning employment non-competes.
With the extension, the FTC will now be accepting comments on the proposed rule until April 19. Originally, the deadline for submitting comments was March 20.
Information on how to submit comments can be found in the Federal Register notice.
As earlier reported on this blog, Commissioner Christine Wilson, the sole dissenter in the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule banning non-competes, announced yesterday that she is resigning from the agency over her fierce opposition to progressive FTC Chair Lina Khan’s methods of advancing her agenda. In a Wall Street Journal OpEd, Commissioner Wilson took aim at Ms. Khan’s “disregard for the rule of law and due process.” She cited several examples of this alleged disregard for the rule of law and due process, including the FTC’s launch of the rulemaking process to ban nearly all non-compete clauses in employee contracts, affecting roughly one-fifth of employment contracts in the US. As Commissioner Wilson noted in her vigorous dissenting statement to the FTC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”), the proposed rule defies the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA (2022), which held that an agency can’t claim “to discover in a long-extant statute an unheralded power representing a transformative expansion in its regulatory authority.” As Commission Wilson noted in her dissent, and as we have pointed out here and here, the FTC’s NPR purports to undo hundreds of years of state legal precedent—dating from even before the American Revolution—that employs a fact-specific inquiry into whether a non-compete clause is unreasonable in duration and scope, given the business justification for the restriction.
In the first installment of our 2023 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Webinar Series, Seyfarth partners Kate Perrelli, Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, Dan Hart, and Dawn Mertineit discussed the new Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) proposed rule banning the use of non-competes with employees and workers. The expert panel addressed what the proposed rule would do and what employers need to know
Continue Reading Webinar Recap! FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes. Now What?
Thursday, January 12, 2023
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern
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1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain
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In the first installment of the 2023 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Webinar Series, our team will focus on the new Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) proposed rule banning the use of
Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes. Now What?
Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a proposed rule which would ban all non-compete agreements between employers and “workers” (broadly defined to include employees, independent contractors, interns, and others). If adopted, the proposed rule will bar both prospective and existing non-compete agreements. The FTC included an overview fact sheet describing the proposed rule.
The FTC is seeking public comment on the proposed rule, which is based on a preliminary finding that non-competes constitute an unfair method of competition and therefore violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. This proposed rule aligns with the FTC’s recent statement to attempt to reinvigorate Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bans unfair methods of competition.
In the final 2022 webinar, Seyfarth attorneys Kate Perrelli, Dan Hart, and Dallin Wilson discussed new and pending legislation and enforcement issues for non-competes.
As a conclusion to this webinar, we compiled a summary of takeaways:
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
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In the final installment of our 2022 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, our team will focus on new legislation and the enforcement of non-competes. Any company that seeks to use non-compete
Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! Overview of Non-Compete Legislation and Enforcement Issues from 2022
Seyfarth’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group is pleased to provide the 2022-2023 edition of our 50 State Desktop Reference, which surveys the most-asked questions related to restrictive covenants and trade secrets in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.
For the company executive, in-house counsel, or HR professional, we hope this guide will provide a starting
Continue Reading Now Available! 2022-2023 Edition of 50 State Non-Compete Desktop Reference
This article was originally published in the Boston Bar Association’s Fall 2022 Boston Bar Journal.
Just over four years ago, the Massachusetts legislature finally passed a bill long in the works addressing non-compete agreements and replacing the Commonwealth’s trade secret misappropriation statute with a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the “UTSA”), referred to herein as “MUTSA.” See M. G. L. c. 93, § 42-42G. While the Commonwealth’s “new” non-compete law has received the most attention, the adoption of the UTSA was also notable. Even though Massachusetts is the 49th state to adopt the UTSA, MUTSA differs from other states’ versions of the UTSA. This piece will discuss the differences in pre- and post-MUTSA jurisprudence and what issues may be implicated by the law.
Continue Reading The Massachusetts Trade Secrets Act, Four Years On: What to know
In the fourth installment of our 2022 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys Kate Perrelli, Matt Simmons, and Robyn Marsh discussed restrictive covenant agreements (“RCAs”), including non-competes, non-solicitations, and NDAs. Plus they discussed best practices and practical tips companies can implement regarding restrictive covenant agreements. View a recording of this webinar here.
As a follow up to this webinar, our team wanted to highlight:
Continue Reading Webinar Recap! Anatomy of a Restrictive Covenant