Noncompete agreements are under fire, with the FTC considering limits or bans on them. Our employment policy expert breaks down the current state of play and answers some common questions business and employees have about these widely misunderstood contracts.

• State and federal regulators are moving to enact laws that ban or limit employers' use of noncompete agreements.
• Critics insist noncompete agreements restrict employee mobility, while proponents argue they are necessary to protect proprietary information.
• When used transparently and appropriately, noncompete agreements can benefit employers and employees alike.

Against the backdrop of a still looming pandemic and a serious worker shortage, business leaders consistently cite recruiting and retaining properly skilled talent among their biggest priorities. That need, however, dovetails with a movement among state and federal regulators to enact laws that ban or curtail the use of noncompete agreements, putting these widely used but little understood contracts not only at the forefront of hiring and workforce planning discussions among business leaders but also in the national headlines.

At the most basic level, noncompete agreements are contracts where employees agree to not compete with a former employer for a specified period after leaving the company. Critics of non-compete agreements insist that the restrictive covenant harms competition, stifles employee mobility, and is a superfluous tool in protecting...

Read Full Story: https://www.uschamber.com/employment-law/6-questions-about-the-impact-of-nonc...