On January 19, 2023, the  Commission proposed the Non-Compete Clause Rule. 88 FRS 3482 (Jan. 19, 2023). The comment period as extended closed on April 19, 2023, 88 FR 20441 (Apr. 6, 2023), and the Commission received over 26,000 public comments. The Commission issued a final rule on May 7, 2024. 89 FR 38342 (May 7, 2024). The Non-Compete Clause Rule provides that it is an unfair method of competition and therefore a violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for persons to, among other things, enter into or attempt to enter into non-compete clauses with workers on or after the final rule’s effective date. On August 15, 2024, a federal district court in Florida issued a decision granting a stay and enjoining the FTC’s enforcement of the Rule against the plaintiff in that case. On August 20, 2024, a federal district court in Texas issued a similar order, which had a nationwide effect of stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule on September 4, 2024, the rule’s effective date. On March 7, 2025, the federal government filed motions for a 120-day stay of its challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. The appeals courts are considering the lower federal court rulings in Texas and Florida that invalidated or enjoined, respectively, the Biden-era FTC rule that would have banned nearly all noncompete agreements. The Rule is under review.