HR Policy Association Statement on Court's Block of FTC Non-Compete Ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction on the FTC's ban on noncompete agreements, blocking its application nationwide. In response, Tim Bartl, President and CEO of HR Policy Association, which represents chief human resource officers of nearly 400 of the largest employers in the United States, offers this statement:  

“HR Policy Association fully supports the court’s timely decision to block the FTC’s rule banning non-compete agreements for all employers nationwide. The decision sends a clear message that the FTC violated the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeded its statutory authority by issuing the ban. In our comments filed with the Commission when the rule was proposed, the Association articulated our firm belief that the Commission lacks the authority to issue such a rule. We also stated that the rule itself is an excessively broad ban that unjustifiably prohibits the reasonable use of sensibly tailored agreements to protect recognizable business interests. The Association looks forward to a full judicial resolution of this matter and is fully prepared to work with all stakeholders on a reasonable approach to non-compete agreements that targets any misuse while preserving their continued reasonable use to protect legitimate investments.” 

Read more on the Association’s position on preserving the responsible use of non-compete agreements here.  

Tim Bartl and Gregory Hoff are available for media interviews. 

HR Policy Association’s April 2023 comments to the FTC on the proposed rule can be found here: 

https://www.hrpolicy.org/getmedia/69ec55cb-07f7-46b1-b437-8617ff858374/HRPA-FTC-Non-Compete-NPRM-Comments.pdf  

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HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of nearly 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide. They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence to improve public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession. For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.