The Texas court we wrote about here has now ruled. Its ruling comes as no surprise to those of us who’ve been watching.
The ruling: the FTC’s ban on non-competes is blocked.
We know this final rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024 across the country. Now, that won’t happen.
But the federal government already has announced it will appeal, so the Texas federal court judge’s decision most certainly isn’t the last word. And here in New York, we already know that non-competes in general are frowned on. To be enforceable, they must be narrowly tailored in terms of both temporal scope (how long is it?) as geographic scope (how far does it reach?).
For now, on the federal side, there will be no change in the law. So properly-drafted non-compete agreements are still in play and can be useful in business.
As promised, The Coppola Firm will be alert to any changes and will keep you informed. If you have questions about non-competes or other aspects of employment law (for example, non-solicitations and confidentiality provisions), feel free to reach out at either 716.839.9700 or info@coppolalegal.com.
