Request for Information Regarding Employee Noncompete Agreements

The Federal Trade Commission invites public comment to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions. FTC staff has reviewed significant evidence indicating that these restraints can unjustifiably prevent workers from moving to better jobs, impede new business formation, prevent the shift of labor from over-served to under-served markets, and harm rival employers’ ability to fairly compete. This leads to lower worker earnings, lost innovation, higher consumer prices, and overall negative effects on workers’ or consumers’ quality of life. Given the private nature of employment contracts, FTC staff seeks to understand which specific employers continue to impose noncompete agreements to inform the Commission’s ongoing law enforcement and public advocacy efforts. FTC staff encourages members of the public, including current and former employees restricted by noncompete agreements, employers facing hiring difficulties due to a rival’s non-compete agreements, and market participants in the healthcare sector in particular, to share information about the use of noncompete agreements