PA Chamber Opposes FTC Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements

HARRISBURG - Today, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Luke Bernstein released the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) recent vote to ban employer noncompete agreements:

"The FTC has neither the statutory authority nor a sensible reason to attempt to ban noncompete agreements," Bernstein said. "Employers will often seek to include these agreements in employment contracts to protect their proprietary information or justify significant investments they make in recruitment. Noncompete agreements already have limits and may be deemed unenforceable if found to be unduly restrictive. This kind of administrative micromanagement, however, sets an alarming precedent for America's job creators, and the PA Chamber fully supports the U.S. Chamber's efforts to block the FTC's extreme overreach and prevent this unnecessary and unlawful rule from taking effect."

Last April, the PA Chamber co-signed a letter to the FTC urging the commission to withdraw its proposed rule and revert to the authority expressly granted to it by Congress.

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