HR Policy Association Statement on Federal Trade Commission Rule to Ban Non-Competes

HR Policy Association Statement on Federal Trade Commission Rule to Ban Non-Competes

Large Employers Strongly Object to Rule and Support Use of Non-Compete Agreements, Especially for Senior Executives

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Trade Commission released its rule banning the use of non-compete clauses for nearly all employees and independent contractors. In response, HR Policy Association associate counsel and director of labor and employment policy Greg Hoff, representing chief human resource officers of nearly 400 of the largest employers in the United States, offers this statement: 

“HR Policy Association is encouraged by the Commission’s decision to allow existing non-compete agreements for senior executives to remain in effect. The Association strongly advocated for the Commission to, at minimum, adopt this position in the final rule. However, the Association remains strongly opposed to the overall final rule, which precludes the reasonable use of non-compete agreements that are vital for protecting employee investment to the benefit American workers. 

To the extent that some companies unnecessarily use unreasonably broad non-compete agreements, such use does not justify an all-encompassing ban that inhibits all employers from protecting investments in accordance with well-established law. The Association firmly believes that the use of reasonably tailored agreements to protect recognizable business interests should continue to be lawful.  HR Policy Association also joins other business community groups in asserting that the FTC lacks authority to regulate non-compete agreements in the first place, and we anticipate lawsuits challenging the rule.”

Greg Hoff is available for media interviews.

HR Policy Association’s  April 2023 comments to the FTC on the proposed rule can be found here: https://www.hrpolicy.org/getmedia/69ec55cb-07f7-46b1-b437-8617ff858374/HRPA-FTC-Non-Compete-NPRM-Comments.pdf 

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HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of nearly 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide.   They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession.  For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.