The top U.S. labor law enforcer is @nlrbgc.bsky.social. Biden-era GC maintained that contracts binding workers against taking their skill to competing employers are unlawful. The new NLRB General Counsel reversed this, will stop fighting such noncompete clauses. HT @mattbruenig.bsky.social - ThreadSky

aaronsojourner.org • 9 days ago

The top U.S. labor law enforcer is @nlrbgc.bsky.social.

Biden-era GC maintained that contracts binding workers against taking their skill to competing employers are unlawful.

The new NLRB General Counsel reversed this, will stop fighting such noncompete clauses.

HT @mattbruenig.bsky.social

Comments

jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social•9 days ago

Can states ban noncompetes? (I feel like the answer is yes, they do, and @aaronsojourner.org has a paper exploiting that variation but I could be hallucinating that)

aaronsojourner.org•9 days ago

Yes, states can.

I have a paper on nondisclosure agreements, not noncompetes. But my co-author, @evanpstarr.bsky.social, and others have papers on noncompetes exploiting state policy variation. Evidence reviewed @innovateeconomy.bsky.social here:
https://eig.org/noncompetes-research-brief/

evanpstarr.bsky.social•9 days ago

Yes! Thanks for sharing my brief @aaronsojourner.org @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social About a dozen states have noncompetes bans since 2008 ranging from a complete ban to low wage, high wage, and high tech (see https://faircompetitionlaw.com/2025/02/13/updated-restrictive-covenant-low-wage-threshold-criteria-chart-february-2025/).

terrigerstein.bsky.social•9 days ago

Yes they can and should and many have. MN and CA ban them. Other states like WA curb them sharply. Here’s something I wrote on this in relation to a very modest proposal in CT which to date hasn’t passed. https://www.ctinsider.com/opinion/nhregister/article/opinion-ct-should-curb-noncompetes-no-matter-17771580.php

aaronsojourner.org•9 days ago

This is going to help incumbent employers at the expense of workers, new entrant businesses, and innovation, according to the best available evidence, summarized by leading researcher @evanpstarr.bsky.social.
https://eig.org/noncompetes-research-brief/

aaronsojourner.org•9 days ago

The new NLRB GC also is reversing course and allowing employers to enforce broad nondisclosure and non-disparagement agreements in severance agreements.

This makes it harder for potential employees to recognize harassment, safety, and other risks at jobs with a particular employer.

aaronsojourner.org•9 days ago

This thread reviews relevant research I've done on:

- workers' information problems when trying to accurately asses job quality prospectively,

- how employers with something bad to hide use NDAs to blend in with decent employers, &

- how policy affects the flow of info
https://bsky.app/profile/aaronsojourner.org/post/3lfvhzl2fms2e

aaronsojourner.org•9 days ago

Correction: the new Acting GC.

usps.bsky.social•9 days ago

Remember that time that Jimmy John's tried to argue that they needed non-competes to protect their company from the secret to putting meat on bread.

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