Gustafson Gluek Moves to Intervene and Defend the Federal Non-Compete Ban

Approximately 30 million workers in the United States are subject to non-compete agreements.  Non-competes are the antithesis of the American Dream.  The American Dream is built on entrepreneurship and the ability for individuals to work hard, innovate, and improve their economic position.  Non-competes suppress wages, restrict worker mobility, hinder innovation, and discourage entrepreneurship – harming not only the individuals subject to non-competes, but the economy as a whole. Gustafson Gluek is proud to partner with Towards Justice and Burns Charest to defend the federal non-compete ban.   

In April 2024, after years of research and public engagement, the FTC issued a rule banning non-compete clauses nationwide. Corporate interests swiftly sued to block the rule and a district court judge in Texas put the FTC’s ban on hold.  The FTC appealed and dozens of amicus curiae, many on the side of the American worker, weighed in.  Then the FTC, now under FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, in an about-face at the eleventh-hour, abandoned the American worker and dropped its appeal.

Similar to many American workers, Ric Davidson, was recently laid off. Mr. Davidson worked in distribution and logistics for a clothing manufacturer.  He was not privy to any proprietary information or trade secrets, but was still required to sign an 18-month non-compete agreement as a condition of keeping his job when his former employer was bought ten years into his tenure at the company.  Under the FTC’s non-compete ban, the non-compete clause Mr. Davidson was forced to sign would be void and he would be free to find a job in the industry he has worked in for more than a decade.  However, with the FTC abandoning the defense of its own rule, Mr. Davidson remains subject to the non-compete and unable to find employment. We are honored to represent Mr. Davidson, and the millions of American workers like him, as he seeks to take up the fight abandoned by the new leadership of the FTC and moves to intervene at the Fifth Circuit to defend the FTC’s non-compete ban. 

 For more information, please see Mr. Davidson’s motion to the Fifth Circuit.