The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to dismiss appeals on Sept. 5 that it had filed in response to lawsuits challenging a proposed ban on most noncompete agreements. With the dismissal, the FTC signaled it will no longer go forward with the ban, which was issued via a final rule in April 2024, when President Joe Biden was in office.

Andrew N. Ferguson, who President Donald Trump appointed to serve as FTC chairman in January, was among the commission members who dissented the ban in 2024, arguing the agency didn’t have the statutory authority to issue such a rule. In a statement regarding the decision to withdraw one of its appeals, Ferguson said the Biden-era rule’s “illegality was patently obvious.”

Though the FTC’s decision puts an end to legal back-and-forth over a ban that never took effect, Ferguson said the agency will continue to target unlawful noncompete agreements……………..