FTC Has Funds to Stay Open for Three Weeks in a Federal Shutdown

The Federal Trade Commission has funding to continue operations for three weeks if the government fails to avert a shutdown by Sept. 30, but will furlough staff and ask to pause litigation if the stalemate continues longer.

The Oct. 20 grace period is thanks to a balance left over from the prior year’s budget, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar told Bloomberg Law. That surplus will come in handy as the agency pursues a variety of legal challenges and rulemaking, including its much-anticipated plan to ban nearly all noncompete agreements.

But after three weeks, agency operations will largely halt, Farrar said. A ...