The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a final rule banning non-compete agreements (NCAs) in the U.S. NCAs are exploitative practices imposing contractual conditions that prevent workers from taking a new job or starting a new business, forcing them either stay under the current employer or bear significant harms and costs like being forced to switch to a lower-paying field, forced to relocate, leave the workforce altogether, or defending against expensive litigation. As per the FTC, a ban on NCAs will protect the “fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs…”.
