FTC Issues RFI on Noncompete Agreements & Appeals Update

Workforce
 
Published:September 10, 2025
Dana Ritchie
​​The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently launched a public inquiry to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions.
 
As noted in the FTC news release, 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.  

The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than November 3, 2025. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. Individuals wishing to submit confidential, non-public comments should reference the alternative submission guidelines in the RFI.   

In addition, the FTC recently dropped its appeal of court rulings prohibiting the agency from enforcing its noncompete rule.  You can find more background on this matter in this AHCA/NCAL update from last year.