FTC Targets Non-Compete Agreements, Again - What Employers Need to Do

By Richard Lehr - Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

Under the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission attempted to pursue a robust regulatory approach to restrict non-compete agreements. ( See our prior posts here , here , here , and here ). However, those efforts were derailed in August 2024, when a federal court enjoined the FTC rule (which had tried to outlaw most non-competes). Employers who thought that non-compete agreements would not be an issue with the Trump FTC are forewarned: the FTC will focus on employers whose non-compete agreements, in the FTC’s view, restrict competition and entrepreneurship.

On September 5, 2025, the FTC announced that it filed a complaint against Gateway Services, a national pet cremation company with approximately 1,8