A federal court in Texas has partially blocked the government’s ban on noncompete agreements that was set to take effect September 4.the Federal Trade Commission voted narrowlyThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce originally filed its own lawsuit against the FTC in a separate federal court in Texas but has since joined Ryan’s case."The Court grants the motion for preliminary injunction and postpones the effective date of the Rule as applied to the Plaintiffs," wrote Judge Ada Brown of the U.S.
"The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy," said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a statement."Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand."
Existing noncompete agreements would not need to be formally rescinded under the rule, but employers would be required to inform their employees that they are no longer enforceable. For more complex medical needs, Applegate relies on other doctors in the area to provide specialty care for free. But he says noncompetes hurt patients by driving doctors away, a concern that physicians all over the country shared through public comments to the FTC.
"They leave their patients. They have to leave the community," says Applegate."It’s just so morally wrong."A thousand miles south, however, Sarah Ruiz worries the end of noncompetes would put her yoga business in jeopardy.