US targets noncompete clauses that block workers from getting better jobs

(Reuters) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which enforces antitrust law, proposed a rule that would ban companies from requiring workers to sign noncompete provisions as well as some training repayment agreements, which companies use to keep workers from leaving for better jobs, the agency said on Thursday.

Noncompete agreements “block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement.

The proposed rule is the latest sign from the Biden administration of its support for labor, including backing a measure to make it harder for an employer to classify a person as an “independent contractor,” which generally means fewer benefits and legal protections.

The agency estimated that if the rule goes into effect, wages to U.S. workers would rise by $300 billion per year and an estimated 30 million Americans would have better career opportunities.

The rule, which could be months away from taking effect, would also require companies with existing noncompete agreements to scrap them and to inform current and past employees that they have been canceled.

It would also stop companies from requiring workers to reimburse them for certain kinds of training if they leave before a certain period of time, a strategy that some companies began using when noncompete provisions garnered tougher scrutiny. The training repayment would be banned if it “is not reasonably related to the costs the employer incurred for training the worker,” the proposed rule said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicated that it opposed the proposed rule.

“Today’s actions by the Federal Trade Commission to outright ban noncompete clauses in all employer contracts is blatantly unlawful,” said Sean Heather, their antitrust expert who said that the provisions “are an important tool in fostering innovation and preserving competition.”

Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, welcomed the rule, noting that “coercive noncompete agreements have unfairly denied millions of working people the freedom to change jobs, negotiate for better pay, and start new businesses.”

FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter said in 2020 that surveys have estimated that 16% to 18% of all U.S. workers are subject to noncompete provisions. Meanwhile, nearly 10% of American workers surveyed in 2020 were covered by a training repayment agreement, said the Cornell Survey Research Institute.

The move comes a day after the agency announced that two big glass container makers and a security company agreed to drop noncompete requirements.

Ardagh Glass S.A. and O-I Glass Inc., the two largest U.S. glass container makers, had noncompete provisions that affected more than 1,700 workers. Ardagh typically barred former workers from being employed by another similar company for two years while O-I Glass said the company had to give written consent for former workers to take new jobs in the industry, the FTC said.