Once upon a time a business would hire an employee and make them sign an employment agreement which would include a “non-compete” clause – a pro-business protection that serves one objective: prohibiting an employee from working for a competitor.
But in a period when employers are fighting for talent, workers have the upper hand and the tide is turning. Joe Biden, for one, is not a fan of non-compete clauses.
In 2021 he issued an executive order aimed at curtailing the use of non-compete agreements because they limited worker mobility and made it harder for workers to change jobs or seek better working conditions. The order isn’t law, but it directs the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and potentially penalize companies that make use of these types of agreements when they have been deemed anti-competitive.
It’s unusual for the federal government to take such a provocative position in this matter. In the past,…
