Roundup: US employer resources on recent noncompete restrictions 

Noncompete agreements prevent former employees from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business for a certain time period after their employment ends. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under the Biden administration, finalized a rule banning noncompetes. In August 2024, a federal judge in Texas blocked the rule from taking effect nationwide. While the FTC appealed the decision, the current FTC, under the Trump administration, will not defend this rule. At the moment, it is unclear as to what position the FTC will take on noncompete agreements. On Sept. 4, 2025, the FTC launched a public inquiry to better understand the scope, prevalence and effects of employer noncompete actions, as well as to gather information to inform possible enforcement actions.

At the state level, several states have generally banned noncompete agreements. Numerous other states have enacted restrictions, such as only allowing noncompete agreements for employees above a certain salary threshold. This roundup focuses on recent federal and state actions to restrict noncompete provisions and provides links to federal and state resources from organizations, government websites, third-party resources and news articles.

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