Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub Non-compete agreements may soon be going the way of the dodo. The FTC just concluded its public comment period for its plan to eliminate them in most cases, and new rules are expected to be released later this year. Already, though, many states have restricted these agreements. In this podcast, and in his article in Compliance & Ethics Professional, John Gardiner of Bodman explains that the new FTC rule was designed to counter agreements that many felt were overly broad and restricted the ability of employees to find gainful employment elsewhere. The agreements also raised antitrust concerns since they could stifle competition; the FTC saw behavior among employers that appeared to them to keep employees from finding work elsewhere. The new rule could change that, greatly narrowing when a non-compete agreement could be enforced. It also means that non-disparagement and non-disclosure agreements that could have the same chilling effect on employment changes will likely fall on the wrong si