GOP-Led States Say Biden FTC Overstepped With Noncompete Ban

The Federal Trade Commission unlawfully intruded on states’ regulatory power by issuing a near-total ban on worker noncompete agreements, a group of 17 Republican-led states argued in a new court filing.

Led by the Florida attorney general’s office, the states urged the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to affirm a Florida federal judge’s decision that the FTC lacked clear congressional authorization to implement the ban.

“States have regulated noncompete clauses and contract law since the founding,” the states said Wednesday. “The federal government, in contrast, has never done so. This dramatic change from state to federal regulation ...