FTC Announces New Date for Workshop on Noncompete Agreements

The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop, titled “Moving Forward: Protecting Workers from Anticompetitive Noncompete Agreements.” The event is open to the public, and will be held on January 27, 2025 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, at the FTC’s Headquarters. Registration is required to attend in person. Registration is not required to view the livestream.

A noncompete agreement is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that typically blocks the worker from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after the end of the worker’s employment. In practice, noncompete agreements are often subject to abuse.

The workshop is part of the Trump-Vance FTC’s efforts to highlight the negative impact of noncompete agreements on American workers and put business on notice of its current enforcement priorities.

The workshop will be hosted by the FTC’s Joint Labor Task Force, which was created by Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson to prioritize rooting out and prosecuting deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive labor-market practices that harm American workers. It follows a recent FTC enforcement action eliminating restrictive and anticompetitive noncompete agreements; a series of letters sent to healthcare companies warning them to review and eliminate any anticompetitive noncompete agreements they may have; and a broad request for information seeking tips to lead to further enforcement actions.

The workshop will include public statements from FTC Commissioners, victims of unfair and anticompetitive noncompete agreements, and leading experts in the field. A full agenda and list of speakers will be available prior to the event. A livestream link will be posted to FTC.gov on the morning of the event.