By Joshua Rich — The Federal Trade Commission, voting 3-2 along party lines, adopted a Final Rule banning non-compete agreements. The Final Rule allows some narrow exceptions (based both on time and circumstances) but prospectively prohibits employment-related non-competes to the full extent of the FTC’s jurisdiction when it takes effect in 120 days. As the FTC noted in adopting the Final Rule, mounting abuses and distortions of the labor market led to this action. But there remains a key question to be litigated before the Final Rule takes effect — whether the FTC has the power to ban non-compete agreements…
