After issuing a narrow party-specific, preliminary injunction against enforcement of the non-compete rule in July, the same Texas court issued broader, permanent relief in a ruling issued today in Ryan, LLC v. FTC.  Specifically, the court ruled (in granting a motion for summary judgment brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others) that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) exceeded its authority in adopting its near-total ban on non-compete agreements and that the FTC’s rule is arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.  The court held that the appropriate remedy is to set aside the rule entirely (as opposed to setting it aside only as to the specific parties in the case).  As such, “[t]he Rule shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on its effective date of September 4, 2024, or thereafter.” 

This ruling is welcome news for employers across the country.  The FTC is likely to appeal today’s ruling, but for now the non-compete rule is blocked nationwide.

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Photo of Robin E. Largent Robin E. Largent

Robin Largent has been advising and defending employers for over twenty years, primarily in California state and federal courts.  Robin’s practice focuses on the defense of wage and hour class and representative (PAGA) actions.  Robin’s practice also focuses heavily on compliance and advice…

Robin Largent has been advising and defending employers for over twenty years, primarily in California state and federal courts.  Robin’s practice focuses on the defense of wage and hour class and representative (PAGA) actions.  Robin’s practice also focuses heavily on compliance and advice on best practices to prevent and mitigate the risks of employment litigation.  Robin also regularly defends employers ranging from small, locally owned businesses to large national corporations in single plaintiff employment litigation involving claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.  Robin has substantial appellate experience and success handling appeals, writ petitions, and amicus briefs in both state and federal courts on issues such as class certification (particularly in the wage and hour arena), manageability and due process concerns associated with class action trials, novel issues of interpretation of wage and hour laws, exempt/non-exempt misclassification issues, meal and rest break compliance, trade secret/unfair competition matters, and the scope of federal court jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act.  Finally, Robin is well-known for her former role as Editor and primary author of the California Labor and Employment Law Blog for close to a decade.

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