In a Tampa Bay Business Journal article published Apr. 25, 2024, Trenam Shareholder in the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group, John Goldsmith was quoted sharing insights on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent ban on noncompete agreements.
The article delved into emerging details about the FTC’s recent decision to pass a ban on most noncompete agreements, which will affect virtually every area of the U.S. workforce. The article explored the ramifications of the new ban, such as the potential for employers to be more reluctant about investing in training and development for younger, early-career employees, as well as increased challenges for protecting trade secrets and confidential information.
“The idea of banning noncompetes for minimum-wage jobs — jobs that don’t require special skills and training — makes some sense. The purpose of noncompetes in that context is to depress wages,” Goldsmith said. “But noncompetes involving workers who have access to significant trade secrets and confidential information, and companies that have made significant investments in their training and development – that’s a significant problem.”
“[The ban] will impact of lot of businesses. For example, commission sales representatives for a wide range of products, from pharmaceuticals to medical devices to software — all of those fields will be affected because they develop relationships with their customers and now they can freely take those customers to another company,” he added.
For the full article, please click here.
