Being first conceptualized in the Middle Ages, non-compete clauses have been signed by millions of people as terms for their employment. Non-compete clauses protect employers by preventing employees from working with industry competitors during or after their employment. For decades, many have claimed that these clauses stifle competition by preventing employers from seeking out the best workers in their fields. Large companies have often abused these clauses to pay employees much less than what they are worth over the long term and used their extreme bargaining power to effectively silence any complaints from employees.

However, all of this could potentially change in the coming months. On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a ban on non-compete clauses claiming they harm workers and aspiring businesses. This new rule would nullify any existing non-compete clauses and prevent any from being signed in the future, even for employees that are not paid (like unpaid interns). This ban would allegedly increase total United States wages by over $300 billion and provide more job opportunities for nearly 30 million employees throughout the country.

The main argument for non-compete clauses is that it prevents employees from taking trade secrets or training from one company to another with little regard for their prior employers. The ethics of trade secrets alone remain questionable; it would not be surprising if a rule regarding these was introduced soon by the FTC as well. The arguments for and against non-compete clauses are all valid in some way or another, but nonetheless, it seems more people are leaning against them than not.
With the significant pay increases and employment opportunities that come with banning non-compete clauses, it seems likely that the rule proposal will be furthered until it becomes a finalized rule. Compliance with this rule, per the FTC, will be strictly enforced exactly 180 days after it becomes a final rule, giving employers time to adjust their internal policies and release current employees from their non-compete agreements.