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FTC Kibosh On Noncompete Clauses

FTC Kibosh On Noncompete Clauses

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
April 24, 2024

Good morning and happy Wednesday. The three-day NFL draft starts tomorrow in Detroit. Have you ever wondered how they get each player's name on his new team's jersey so quickly? A Michigan company located near the Motor City makes it happen. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Tennessee: School gun law
Russia: Gershovich appeal denied
Biden: Commencement address plans
Williams-Sonoma: Hit with big fine
Johnny Cash: New posthumous album

... and more

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Top Tips

1) No more noncompetes

A Federal Trade Commission vote could drastically change the job market for as many as 30M Americans.

What happened: The FTC approved a wide-ranging ban on noncompete agreements by a 3-2 margin. Chairwoman Lina Khan said contractual provisions that prohibit workers from taking jobs with competing businesses for a certain period undermine economic liberty, depress wages and stagnate industries.
The impact: FTC estimates project the ban could boost wages by almost $500B over 10 years, create 8.5K new businesses annually and lead to as many as 30K new patents each year. Noncompetes are traditionally associated with executives and highly skilled workers, but they have become increasingly commonplace in many sectors with one in five workers affected by one.
Big picture: The ban will face legal challenges. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already said it will sue; other business groups will likely follow. They will argue noncompetes are necessary to protect trade secrets and investments in employees.

2) Gag lag

It sounds like former President Donald Trump will be sanctioned in his New York hush money trial, but it has not happened yet.

What happened: Judge Juan Merchan castigated Trump's attorneys during a hearing on whether Trump violated his gag order. Merchan rejected Trump attorney Todd Blanche's arguments defending the alleged violations and said the legal team is "losing all credibility" in his court. But Merchan said he is reserving his decision in the matter, although he made it clear he believes Trump is in violation.
Next steps: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office wants Merchan to fine Trump $1K for each violation and to remind him future violations could result in imprisonment. Trump is fundraising off the hearing, claiming in an email to supporters that he may be sent to jail.
Other developments: Former National Enquirer boss David Pecker continued his testimony. He said he worked with former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to publish positive stories about Trump and negative ones about opponents during the 2016 campaign. Pecker was not directly involved in the $130K payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels. The trial is off today.

3) Thinking abroad

About three-quarters of Americans believe stopping terrorism should be among the country's top foreign policy objectives.

What happened: A new national survey by Pew Research Center found 73% of Americans identified preventing terror attacks as a priority. Keeping illegal drugs out of the country (64%) and containing the spread of weapons of mass destruction (63%) were also frequently mentioned.
Go deeper: A majority of Americans are also focused on maintaining military supremacy (53%) and preventing infectious diseases (52%). Fifty percent of Americans feel opposing Russia should be a focus, while 49% said the same about China. Only 44% identified climate change as a major concern.
Big picture: The survey had some interesting revelations about issues that are factoring into the presidential race. Only 29% of respondents said a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be a priority and only 23% expressed concern about supporting Ukraine. Strengthening NATO was at 31%, but getting other countries to pay more to maintain world order was at 42%.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

Tennessee legislators passed a law allowing teachers and staff to be armed inside schools. The bill will become law unless Gov. Bill Lee vetoes it; he has indicated he supports it (More)
Baltimore has taken initial steps to sue the owner of the ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The city claims the vessel's actions were negligent and potentially criminal amid an FBI probe (More)
The death rate of incarcerated people was three times the general population during the worst phase of the pandemic, according to a new study. The mortality rate in U.S. prisons rose 77% in 2020, with older inmates hit particularly hard (More)

World News

A Russian judge rejected Evan Gershkovich's latest detention appeal. The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested on dubious espionage charges over a year ago; he will remain in custody through June (More)
Canada's postal service is refusing to assist a proposed national gun buyback program. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to utilize post offices to recover about 145K banned firearms, including AR-15s (More)
Taiwan's government has pledged to remove almost 800 statues of former leader Chiang Kai-shek. The effort is considered an effort to distance the island nation from China (More)

Campaign News

President Joe Biden will deliver two college commencement addresses next month. He is scheduled to speak at Morehouse College and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (More)
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake seemingly reversed her abortion position. The Republican lamented the state's controversial near-total ban law is not being enforced after initially condemning it (More)
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney ended his Virginia gubernatorial bid. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the favorite to be the Democratic nominee next year; Stoney will run for lieutenant governor instead (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed up for a second straight day. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq were each up 200-plus points (Dow +0.69%, Nasdaq +1.59%, S&P 500 +1.20%).
Williams-Sonoma will pay a $3.2M civil fine to settle false claim charges levied by the FTC. The consumer retail allegedly lied in advertising that certain products were produced in the U.S. (More)
Tesla will lay off a combined 6K workers in California and Texas after a 9% Q1 revenue drop. The electric vehicle's stock price still jumped after hours after CEO Elon Musk announced plans to produce a low-cost EV by next year (More)

Entertainment & Sports

A new Johnny Cash album will be released in June, over 20 years after the famed singer and songwriter's death. Songwriter will feature 11 original songs Cash recorded in 1993, but never released (More)
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ ownership dispute is headed to mediation. Glen Taylor, the NBA team's majority owner, claims former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore missed a deadline to buy control of the franchise; they already own about 40% of the club (More)
Caitlin Clark's Nike deal is reportedly worth $28M over eight years. The Iowa basketball star was the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in this year's WNBA draft (More)

Quick Hitters

Go Deep: Domino's Pizza has discontinued its infamous 30-minute delivery guarantee. And for good reasons, including litigation and tragedy.
Chow Down: Spring is here! Here are some recipes that fit the season and utilize fresh produce as it becomes available.
Take Note: There are historical markers everywhere in the U.S. An NPR investigation found many do not accurately portray the past.
Show Business: A musical act is officially a big deal when it plays Madison Square Garden. But how does an act know when it is ready to play a gig at the world's most famous arena?
Life Hack: It is possible to have a lawn free of pests and weeds without using environmentally unfriendly treatment methods. Here are some tips for doing so.
OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes”

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