• FTC Enforcement Shift on Non-Competes: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it will enforce non-compete agreements on a case-by-case basis, moving away from broad rulemaking.
• Key Enforcement Priorities: The FTC is prioritizing non-competes in industries with limited access to confidential information and for low-wage, hourly, or entry-level workers.
• Health Care Industry Scrutiny: The composition of panelists at the FTC’s recent workshop—including physicians and veterinarians—suggests the agency will continue focusing on non-competes involving health care professionals.

In this episode of Spilling Secrets, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Daniel R. Levy and Gianna Dano break down what the FTC’s new approach means for employers, including key enforcement priorities and compliance tips.

The Note describes the steps an employer can take to prepare to successfully litigate a non-compete action, the primary options for enforcing a non-compete agreement, and the strategic decisions involved with each option. It discusses gathering evidence, assessing the enforceability of a non-compete, considerations before initiating legal action, cease and desist letters, seeking declaratory judgments, damages, and injunctive relief, and potential remedies available under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). This Note is jurisdiction neutral.

The landscape of restrictive covenants transformed in 2025, driven by a new administration’s approach to federal oversight and decisive legislative action at the state level.

Employers now face a complex environment where broad federal bans have stalled, but state-specific regulations—and opportunities—are rapidly evolving.

Epstein Becker Green attorneys Daniel R. Levy, Carolyn O. Boucek, and David J. Clark break down these critical developments in this episode of Spilling Secrets.

Although the FTC’s decision to abandon its non-compete ban appeal may appear to favor employers, its recent warning letters to health care organizations make clear that regulatory scrutiny is far from over.

In this episode, Epstein Becker Green attorneys E. John Steren and David J. Clark discuss the FTC’s concerns for health care employers, offer guidance on revising non-compete agreements to withstand legal challenges, and explore alternative strategies to protect business interests.

Comprised of 14 pages of exposition, mission-setting, and agency directives, the Biden Order affirmed that administration’s aim to “enforce the antitrust laws to combat excessive concentration of industry, the abuses of market power, and the harmful effects of monopoly and monopsony—especially as these issues arise in labor markets, agricultural markets, Internet platform industries, healthcare markets (including insurance, hospital, and prescription drug markets), repair markets, and United States markets directly affected by foreign cartel activity[.]” The Biden Order set out a “Whole-of-Government competition Policy” that directed federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), to adopt pro-competitive regulations and rescind regulations that “create unnecessary barriers to entry that stifle competition,” including narrowing or eliminating the scope of enforceable restrictive covenants.

As previously reported, the CHOICE Act outlines certain noncompete and garden leave agreement requirements.  As long as the requirements are met, a court “must preliminarily enjoin” a “covered employee” from breaching a noncompete or garden leave agreement if a “covered employer” seeks enforcement of a “covered noncompete agreement” or “covered garden leave agreement.”

Key Changes to Physician Non-Compete Agreements

In June 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB1318 into law, which, effective September 1, 2025, revises Sections 15.50 and 15.52 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code, and adds a new Section 15.501.