As readers of this blog will recall, last April, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along party lines to finalize a rule (the Noncompete Ban) that would have banned the vast majority of employee noncompete agreements across the country. Shortly after the FTC’s vote, the Noncompete Ban was challenged in three separate lawsuits: first in Texas, then in Pennsylvania, and then in a third case in Florida. The court in Pennsylvania ruled for the FTC, finding the Noncompete Ban lawful and supported by the FTC’s administrative record. By contrast, the courts in Texas and Florida ruled against the FTC, both finding the Noncompete Ban to be unlawful (albeit on somewhat different grounds). And, importantly, the Texas court issued a broad, universal order, preventing the Noncompete Ban from taking effect nationwide.
In the closing months of the Biden Administration, the FTC appealed the Texas and Florida decisions to the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, respectively. Since Inauguration Day, however, the Trump administration has brought rapid changes to the makeup and direction of the FTC. Within hours of taking office, President Trump appointed a Republican, Andrew Ferguson, to serve as FTC Chair. Two weeks later, the Democratic former FTC Chair, Lina Khan, resigned her seat at the FTC, leaving the FTC with two Republican Commissioners and two Democratic Commissioners. Then, on March 18, President Trump fired the two remaining Democrats — a controversial move that...
After Sydney Sweeney‘s Bathwater Bliss soap sold out within minutes, Dr. Squatch warned about the fake ones at Walmart. Earlier this month, the men’s personal care company launched a limited-editi...