NLRB partners with FTC in effort to protect workers
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The Federal Trade Commission and National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday they have formed a partnership to protect workers from anti-competitive, unfair and deceptive practices, with areas of “mutual interest” including noncompete and nondisclosure contract provisions.
The agencies said in a statement that the “memorandum of understanding” between the two agencies outlines ways in which the commission and board will work together on issues such as labor market concentration, one-sided contract terms and gig economy labor developments.
The statement said in addition to noncompete and nondisclosure provisions, other areas of mutual interest identified in the memorandum include the extent and impact of labor market concentration; labor developments relating to the gig economy and other alternative work arrangements; claims and disclosures about earnings and cost associated with gig and other work; algorithmic decision-making’s impact on workers; workers’ ability to act collectively; and workers’ classification and treatment.
The statement said FTC priorities include cracking down on anticompetitive contract terms “that put workers at a disadvantage by leaving them unable to negotiate freely over the terms and conditions of their employment.”
It said the FTC “is scrutinizing whether some of these contract terms, particularly in take-it-or-leave-it contexts, may violate the law.”
President Biden issued an executive order a year ago ordering the FTC to explore the issue of noncompetes, but there has been little federal action, although states have been active on the issue.
