New York, NY (April 19, 2023) – Epstein Becker Green (EBG) is pleased to announce the launch of our 50-State Noncompete Survey, designed to give employers a desktop guide to the great variety and specificity of noncompete laws across the United States.

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently proposed a rule that would ban noncompetes nationwide (the comment period for which closed today), state law has exclusively governed noncompetes for more than 200 years. The laws are as varied as the states themselves, with some banning noncompetes outright and others making them subject to reasonableness requirements, among many other arrangements. The most recent state law trends have been to require advance notice and to set minimum compensation thresholds.  

“With the unprecedented actions undertaken by the FTC, and even the National Labor Relations Board in its McLaren Macomb decision, employers should be acutely aware of state-level laws in this area,” said Erik Weibust, Member of the Firm in the Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility sub-practice group. “For now and the foreseeable future, states will continue to take the lead in regulating what employers can do with restrictive covenants while federal agencies such as the FTC try to play a more significant role,” he added.

With Epstein Becker Green’s 50-State Noncompete Survey, employers have a quick guide to the variety of legal standards to which their employment contracts must adhere. The survey was thoroughly researched and prepared by the firm’s Trade Secrets and Employee Mobility group.

Peter Steinmeyer, also a Member of the Firm in the Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility sub-practice group, explains, “We wanted to provide a resource to our clients that even we would use on our desks—something to give us the key insights we need when advising on employment contracts, preparing a presentation, or preparing for litigation. I can objectively say that this is that resource, and I personally use it every day in my own practice.”

The 50-State Noncompete Survey is available, free of charge, at ebglaw.com.

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