On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to dismiss its appeals in two pivotal cases— Ryan, LLC v. FTC, No. 24-10951 (5th Cir.) and Properties of the Villages v. FTC, No. 24-13102 (11th Cir.)—effectively walking away from its effort to enforce the Noncompete Rule, which attempted to ban most noncompete agreements nationwide.
As previously noted, the FTC had sought a 120-day stay of its appeals after district courts struck down the Noncompete Rule. Today's move marks another sharp reversal under the agency's new Republican-led leadership, distancing itself from the more aggressive regulatory stance of former Chair Lina Khan. It also echoes the June 28, 2024, dissent by current FTC Chair Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, and aligns with recent signals from the administration favoring targeted enforcement over sweeping rulemaking.
While the Noncompete Rule may be dead, the FTC is not done with noncompetes. Businesses should brace for focused crackdowns, joint task forces, and case-by-case scrutiny. In addition, the FTC has recently solicited additional public input "to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions."
The era of agency blanket bans may be over—but regulatory pressure is far from gone.
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