Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Buckeye argues that the FTC exceeded its statutory authority when it regulated employment contracts by drastically limiting noncompete clauses.

“One hundred and fourteen years after the Federal Trade Commission Act was adopted, the FTC is asserting that it suddenly possesses not only the expertise but the authority to regulate noncompete clauses in employment contracts. It does not,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute and counsel of record on this brief.

The Buckeye Institute additionally argues that the FTC rule violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the major questions doctrine and that it is arbitrary and capricious because it ignores well-established policies in 47 states.

Alt continued, “Rather than allow the states to continue operating as thriving laboratories of democracy, the FTC has belatedly entered the chat with a one-size-fits-all/Washington knows best rule. If that weren’t bad enough, the FTC lacks the statutory authority to regulate noncompete agreements. Enough!”

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