Biden Admin Bans Non-Compete Agreements Amid Opposition From Business Groups

The two Republican FTC Commissioners on the panel voted against the rule, which faced opposition from a number of congressional Republicans and business groups.

Lina Khan, then nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), speaks her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 21, 2021. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS

Federal regulators have imposed a nationwide ban on the vast majority of non-compete agreements that prevent tens of millions of employees from working for competitors or starting a competing business after they leave their job, with the country’s biggest business lobby vowing to sue.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3–2 on April 23 to adopt a near-total ban on non-compete provisions, with the agency issuing a final rule that labels such agreements as an “unfair method of competition.”