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Over a century ago, Congress gave the Federal Trade Commission authority to police unfair methods of competition. This was long interpreted to cover practices that limit competition and hurt consumers. Veering from this traditional consumer focus to instead emphasize workers, the FTC recently announced a proposal to ban non-compete clauses in employment contracts, which are common. Officials claim that the change could “increase wages by nearly $300 billion per year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans.”
The FTC’s proposal triggers several concerns. State, not federal, law currently regulates non-compete clauses. And courts assessing their competitive impact weigh how they affect incentives to train workers and how they safeguard business secrets. An FTC rule broadly banning such provisions would alter incentives to train workers and develop innovative technologies in the United States. It also runs headlong into recent Supreme Court guidance that agencies must have clear authority from Congress when they regulate a significant portion of the US economy or implement policies that states have predominately addressed.
Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth for a discussion on this topic with Maureen K. Ohlhausen, partner and section chair of antitrust and competition law at Baker Botts. Ohlhausen served as acting FTC chairman from January 2017 to May 2018, and prior to that as commissioner beginning in 2012.
Join Hudson Institute for a conference with leaders from industry, government, academia, and defense to discuss the latest developments in the US-China AI competition.
Join House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (AL-03) for a fireside discussion with Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow on Congress’s role in revitalizing America’s defense industrial base.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion of how the US can build a more resilient and flexible energetics base—one that can meet sustained demand while accelerating the development and fielding of new capabilities.
Hudson welcomes Karel Řehka, former chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, to discuss the changing security environment in Europe and its implications for the Czech Republic, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the transatlantic alliance.
