TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on May 30, 2023

A U.S. labor board official says that requiring workers to sign agreements not to join competing companies is usually illegal, reported Reuters. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo wrote in a memo to agency lawyers that "noncompete agreements" discourage workers from exercising their rights under U.S. labor law to advocate for better working conditions “unless the provision is narrowly tailored to special circumstances justifying the infringement on employee rights." In January, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would ban companies from requiring workers to sign noncompete provisions. That proposal is pending.