Here are six legal and policy updates affecting healthcare employers:
1. The Federal Trade Commission is currently evaluating the controversial ban on noncompete agreements originally finalized in 2024. The rule has been challenged in lawsuits and was most notably blocked by a federal judge in Texas in August 2024. Now, the commission is again evaluating the noncompete ban and other regulations as it moves to reduce what it calls “anticompetitive” regulatory hurdles under President Donald Trump.
2. The noncompete ban remains under challenges in the 5th and 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to an April 14 report by The National Law Review. On March 7, the FTC asked the two courts to hold the appeals “in abeyance” for 120 days to allow the commission to reassess its position on the ban. Both courts granted the requests and ordered the FTC to submit a “status” report by July 10 and 18, respectively.
3. Arkansas became the most recent state to ban noncompete agreements for physicians in early March. The bill was signed into law by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders on March 4 and is expected to take effect in mid-July of this year. It is not clear whether the change will apply retroactively to agreements signed before the effective date. Arkansas’s ban is similar to recent legislation in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
4. Beyond the noncompete ban, President Trump, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and other agency leaders have been vocal about their intent to crack down on what they consider anticompetitive behavior.
On April 14, the agency launched a public inquiry into the effect of federal regulations on competition to identify and reduce anticompetitive regulatory hurdles. The inquiry follows President Trump’s April 9 executive order on reducing anticompetitive regulatory barriers, which aims to eliminate regulations that “reduce competition, entrepreneurship and innovation — as well as the benefits they create for American consumers.”The probe will evaluate regulations that exclude new market entrants, protect dominant incumbents and predetermine economic winners and losers, according to the order.
5. The FTC has issued a request for information seeking public comment on how federal regulations can harm competition. Members of the public — including consumers, workers, businesses, startups, potential market entrants, investors and academics — are encouraged to provide their feedback. The public has until May 27 to submit comments, which will be published on regulations.gov.6. The Justice Department, meanwhile, in March launched an anticompetitive regulations task force to identify and eliminate federal and state regulations that hinder market competition.
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