Open Markets’ Sandeep Vaheesan Responds to the FTC’s Historic Non-Competes Ban

WASHINGTON – Open Markets Legal Director Sandeep Vaheesan released the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule to ban non-compete clauses for all workers.  

“Backed by massive popular support, abundant evidence, and clear legal authority, the FTC has abolished a modern form of involuntary servitude that binds workers to their jobs and prevents them from leaving for greener pastures. The FTC’s decision to free tens of millions of workers from non-compete clauses is an incredible moment in the fight against corporate power and the arbitrary authority of bosses.  

“The non-competes ban demonstrates how competition policy and agencies that enforce it, like the FTC, can make life materially better for America’s workers and professionals. We thank the FTC staff and commissioners for their work and leadership on this issue, and in particular, their taking into account the stories and input of thousands of workers and advocates around the country.” 

Vaheesan was an early thought-leader on the FTC’s ability to use its rulemaking capacity to ban non-compete agreements. He has written extensively about the harms of these restrictive clauses on workers and innovation -- and how the law favors banning them. 

In March 2019, the Open Markets Institute spearheaded a petition joined by Public Citizen, the AFL-CIO, SEIU, many other labor unions and public interest groups, calling on the FTC to enact a regulatory prohibition on non-compete contracts. Open Markets and its partners repeatedly and successfully called on the FTC to act. Since the rulemaking was announced in January 2023, Open Markets has written in favor of a complete ban on non-compete agreements and agreements like them. 

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