With a 3-2 vote along Party lines, the Federal Trade Commission banned the enforcement of non-compete agreements for rank-and-file employees of private businesses, a rule that will provide millions of workers greater flexibility and power to determine their wages, CBS News reports.
While the law for senior executives will remain in place, all other non-competes will be voided in 120 days when the rule takes effect. The right-wing US Chamber of Commerce said it would immediately appeal “this unnecessary and unlawful rule and put other agencies on notice that such overreach will not go unchecked,” adding that giving workers greater mobility would “undermine American businesses’ ability to remain competitive.”
For most salaried and hourly employees who are not represented by a union, their ability to quit their job and find another–or to open their own shop–is their only power to negotiate new wages or work conditions. As the FTC heard through tens of thousands of public comments, non-competes limit and sometimes eliminate opportunities for workers to improve their conditions.