About one in five American workers—approximately 30 million people—are bound by a non-compete clause and are thus restricted from pursuing better employment opportunities. A non-compete clause is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that blocks the worker from working for a competing employer, or starting a competing business, typically within a certain geographic area and period of time after the worker’s employment ends. Because non-compete clauses prevent workers from leaving jobs and decrease competition for workers, they lower wages for both workers who are subject to them as well as workers who are not. Non-compete clauses also prevent new businesses from forming, stifling entrepreneurship, and preventing novel innovation which would otherwise occur when workers are able to broadly share their ideas. Noncompete clauses can exploit workers and hinder economic liberty. Workers often have less bargaining power than their employers. In many cases, noncompete clauses are take-it-or-leave-it contracts that exploit workers’ lack of bargaining power and coerce workers into staying in jobs they would rather leave. To varying degrees, each state restricts employers’ ability to enforce noncompete clauses due to concerns that they harm workers and threaten a person’s ability to practice their trade.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

The Federal Trade Commission proposes preventing employers from entering into non-compete clauses with workers and requiring employers to rescind existing non-compete clauses. The Commission estimates that the proposed rule would increase American workers’ earnings between $250 billion and $296 billion per year. The Commission is asking for the public’s opinion on its proposal to declare that non-compete clauses are an unfair method of competition, and on the possible alternatives to this rule that the Commission has proposed. 

AREA COVERED

• Learn how this issue has been brought to the forefront after the State of the Union Address
• Learn how the Federal Trade Commission disagrees about the reasons for non-compete agreements
• Learn what Employers say non-competes are needed in the workplace
• Learn how the rule would provide that noncompete clauses are an unfair method of competition. As a result, the rule would ban employers from entering noncompete clauses with their workers, including independent contractors.
• Learn how The rule would require employers to rescind existing noncompete clauses with workers and actively inform their employees that the contracts are no longer in effect.
• Learn why this ban impacts employees and largely minority employees.
• Learn what the rule will do for employees.
• Learn what the specifics are when Employers create and mandate non-compete agreements
• Learn how some states have already made banning non-competes part of their regulations

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

• All Employers
• Business Owners
• Company Leadership
• Compliance professionals
• HR Professionals
• Managers/Supervisors
• Employers in all industries