As
we previously covered, a group of 18 state attorneys
general in July filed comments with the Federal Trade Commission
("FTC"), asking the FTC to incorporate labor concerns
when reviewing corporate mergers and to use its enforcement powers
under the Sherman Act to stop the use of non-compete, non-solicit,
and no-poach agreements in many situations. Many of those same
attorneys general recently sent another letter to the FTC, this time
urging it to use its rulemaking authority "to bring an end to
the abusive use of non-compete clauses in employment
contracts."
In the most recent letter, the attorneys general endorsed the
arguments presented in a March 20, 2019, petition submitted to the
FTC by various labor unions, public interest groups, and legal
advocates, requesting that the FTC initiate rulemaking to classify
abusive worker non-compete clauses as an unfair method of
competition and per se illegal under the FTC Act for low wage
workers or where the clause is
