Today the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions.

A noncompete agreement is a contractual term between an employer and a worker that typically blocks the worker from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after the end of the worker’s employment. While noncompete agreements can serve valid purposes in some circumstances, available evidence indicates that they are often subject to abuse.

Members of the public including current and former employees restricted by noncompete agreements, and employers facing hiring difficulties due to a rival’s noncompete agreements, are encouraged to share information about the use of noncompete agreements.

“We are asking the public to help shine a light on unfair and anticompetitive agreements,” said Kelse Moen, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition and co-chair of the agency’s Joint Labor Task Force. “Unreasonable noncompete agreements have proliferated for too long in the dark. With the assistance of the employees and workers most burdened by them, the Trump-Vance FTC intends to uproot the worst offenders and restore fairness to the American labor market. We look forward to closely reviewing every response.”

The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than November 3, 2025. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. Individuals wishing to submit confidential, non-public comments should reference the alternative submission guidelines in the RFI.