Federal Ban on Non-Competes

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rolled out its final rule essentially banning non-compete agreements. The new rule will go into effect Sept. 4, 2024, and will affect, according to the FTC, 30 million people or 18 percent of the American workforce who are under some form of non-compete agreement. Employers, including hospitals and other health care industry entities, who fail to abide by the new rule may face an adverse FTC enforcement action, prohibitive injunctions and, ultimately, civil penalties amounting to $10,000 per individual offense.