FTC Approves Final Rule Banning Non-compete Agreements

At an open meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission voted along partisan lines (3-2) to impose a national prohibition on all existing non-competition agreements, subject to minor exceptions. This decision eviscerates decades of state law regarding non-compete agreements and private agreements between millions of employees and their employers.

While McDonald Hopkins' trade secret, non-compete and unfair competition practice group will elaborate in more detail after a thorough review of the Final Rule, below are the highlights:

1. All existing non-compete agreements for workers other than "senior executives" are invalidated and unenforceable within 120 days of the Rule's promulgation – April 23, 2024.