FTC Noncompete Rule Challenge Will Be Decided Without Hearing

A Texas federal judge said she will decide a challenge to the Federal Trade Commission’s near-total ban on worker noncompetes without a hearing.

A hearing on the “requested injunctive relief is not necessary,” said Ada E. Brown of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas in a brief order submitted late Thursday.

Brown has said she will make a decision by July 3 on a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to block the regulation, which is set to go into effect in September. A ruling will carry significant weight, as noncompete provisions are utilized across the ...