Federal Trade Commission

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In September 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) took steps to crack down on anticompetitive employee non‑competes even as the FTC abandoned the Biden Administration’s efforts to broadly ban them by rule.  As a first step, on September 4, 2025, the FTC launched an inquiry seeking the public’s input on the prevalence and use of non-competes by employers, stating that “[w]ith the assistance of the employees and workers most burdened by them, the Trump-Vance FTC intends to uproot the worst offenders and restore fairness to the American labor market.”  The next day, the FTC filed a consent decree in an unfair competition action against Gateway Services, Inc. and a subsidiary, premised on its employee non-compete agreements.  The consent decree requires Gateway to stop enforcing non-competes binding its nearly 1800 workers.  On September 10, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson issued warning letters to several undisclosed healthcare companies and staffing agencies for “includ[ing] noncompete agreements … in employment contracts that may unreasonably limit employment options for vital roles like nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals.”  And, on September 17, the FTC announced a workshop focused on “Protecting Workers from Anticompetitive Noncompete Agreements.” The workshop was to be held on October 8 but has been delayed because of the federal government shutdown.Continue Reading FTC Again Targets Unfair Employee Non-Competes

Last month, we posted an update describing Florida’s investigation into whether the CDP and the Science Based Targets Initiative are facilitating unlawful collusion among financial institutions and investment services to use an environmental “scoring system” to make investment decisions. On August 12, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) fired another warning shot across the…

In an eight-page Statement joined by the two other sitting Commissioners, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson on May 30, 2025 explained his reasoning for accepting a divestiture remedy proposed by Synopsis, Inc. and Ansys, Inc. to resolve concerns stemming from their pending merger.  The parties to the merger had proposed divesting standalone or discrete business units in three relevant markets to resolve FTC concerns.  The Statement, while promising a forthcoming policy statement on merger remedies, set forth a clear viewpoint about the role of remedies in merger antitrust enforcement and drew a stark contrast with the stance carved out by the Biden FTC, which had expressed a general hostility to remedies and a preference for litigation. 

The Statement is notable for a couple of reasons.  First, it recognizes the key role acquisitions play in fostering innovation.  The Biden FTC expressed antipathy toward acquisitions, particularly by private equity.  Chair Ferguson’s Statement, in contrast, expressly credits the capital from acquisitions as providing “fuel for the fires of innovation,” which in turn spurs the development of “new technology and economic growth.”  Chair Ferguson appears to be sending a clear signal that the days of FTC’s general skepticism of acquisitions—particularly of smaller startups by private equity or larger, more established companies—are over.Continue Reading FTC Chair Issues Statement on Merger Remedies

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Recent actions by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) highlight a sharp escalation in agency antitrust enforcement, particularly for dominant technology platforms. The DOJ has brought two significant cases against Google—one concerning its dominance in search, and another targeting its control over digital advertising technologies. At the same time, the FTC is pursuing a case against Meta, focusing on its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.Continue Reading Antitrust Pressure Mounts for Dominant Tech Platforms

On April 10, 2025, the Senate confirmed Mark Meador to serve as the third Republican on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a 50-46 party line vote. Commissioner Meador takes his seat on a Commission now comprised of three Republicans and no Democrats since President Trump fired Democratic Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya in March. The…

The FTC took two actions on February 26, 2025 to emphasize its continued focus on labor markets and to rededicate its efforts to a policy priority in common with those of the previous Administration.  First, the FTC approved a Final Order requiring a building service contractor to stop enforcing a no-hire agreement with its customers.  Second, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson directed the FTC to form a Joint Labor Task Force dedicated to “protecting … American consumers in their roles as workers.”Continue Reading Pair of FTC Actions Underscores Continued Focus on Labor Issues

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced to FTC staff on February 18 that the FTC would retain the 2023 Merger Guidelines as the framework for reviewing mergers and acquisitions. Citing the need for stability between presidential administrations, Chairman Ferguson rejected calls to set aside the 2023 Merger Guidelines to draft new ones or reinstate…

Days before President Trump’s inauguration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) replaced their Antitrust Guidance for Human Resources Professionals (“2016 Guidance”), which had been in place since 2016.  The Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers covers similar ground as the prior guidance, but expands its reach to a few areas emphasized by the Biden Administration.  For example, where the 2016 Guidance primarily covered 1) naked agreements between employers not to poach workers or fix wages and 2) information-sharing arrangements between competing employers, the replacement guidance expands its coverage to other areas, including restrictions in the franchise and independent contractor contexts, non-competition agreements, ancillary agreements such as non-disclosure agreements, non-solicitation agreements, liquidated damages provisions, and conduct such as false earnings claims.Continue Reading DOJ and FTC Release Replacement Human Resources Guidelines to an Uncertain Future

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) secured a record consent penalty of $5.6 million against two merging parties on January 7, 2025 for improper pre-merger coordination, marking the agency’s first gun-jumping action in over a quarter century.  Verdun Oil Company and XCL Resources Holdings had agreed to acquire EP Energy LLC in a transaction requiring prior notification to the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”).  In the substantive antitrust investigation that followed the parties’ HSR Act notifications, the FTC secured a commitment for Verdun and XCL to divest assets as a condition of FTC approval for the transaction.  The FTC also discovered that the parties had violated the HSR Act.Continue Reading FTC Secures Record Gun-Jumping Penalty in a Case with Several Lessons for Merging Parties

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On November 12, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published its Final Rule and Statement of Basis and Purpose amending the Premerger Notification and Report Form filed for transactions reported under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”). 

Unless the Final Rule is delayed or rescinded by the FTC, the new…