On January 27, 2026, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner
Mark Meador outlined the FTC's new
approach to noncompetes. While the Biden FTC under Chairwoman Lina
Khan had sought a blanket ban on noncompetes, the Trump FTC, led by
Chairman Andrew Ferguson, has chosen a case-by-case approach using
contextual factors to determine whether a noncompete unlawfully
restrains competition.
This shift was highlighted at the FTC's Workshop on
Protecting Workers from AnticompetitiveNoncompete Agreements. At
this event, Meador gave a speech describing the harms of
noncompetes. He opened by recognizing that noncompetes can serve a
competitive purpose in limited contexts, namely where the
"workers' skill sets . . . require some mastery," are
"niche" or "uniquely specialized," and the
employer would be disadvantaged by the employees choosing to work
elsewhere.
