Trump’s FTC Sends Health Providers Warning About Noncompetes

The Federal Trade Commission is increasing its focus on health employers’ noncompete agreements to ensure contracts comply with antitrust laws.

The letters to undisclosed health-care employers and staffing companies released Wednesday include warnings that the agency will “investigate unfair methods of competition, including noncompete agreements that are unjustified, overbroad, or otherwise unfair or anticompetitive.”

The increased oversight comes after the FTC voted last week to withdraw legal defense of a nationwide noncompete ban issued under the Biden administration.

The rule would have barred the use of most noncompete contracts, which generally place restrictions on workers’ ability to leave jobs within ...