The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule Thursday that would bar employers from enforcing noncompete clauses on their workers, saying the pacts suffocate wage growth.
The proposed rule would make it illegal for employers from entering, trying to enter or maintaining a contract making a worker subject to a noncompete agreement.
Independent contractors, as well as paid and unpaid laborers fall under the scope of the proposed rule.
Employers who have active noncompete clauses would be required to rescind those agreements — and inform their employees when those agreements have ended.
“The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy,” FTC Chairwoman Lina M.