ATS Tree Services, LLC v. FTC concerns the final rule banning non-compete agreements
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 4, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has filed an amicus brief in the case ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. This case challenges the FTC’s final rule banning non-compete agreements issued in April 2024.
“This rule is as superfluous as it is detrimental for small businesses,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “The FTC significantly underreported the impact this regulation will have on small businesses nationwide while failing to provide any substantial reasoning for the necessity of this arbitrary mandate.”
The brief presents two main arguments: first, that the FTC based its final rule on a seriously flawed cost-benefit analysis; and second, that the FTC's reasoning is fallacious and internally inconsistent, rendering the rule arbitrary and capricious.
NFIB filed the brief alongside several organizations including the National Retail Federation, International Franchise Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, American Hotel & Lodging Association, National Association of Wholesale Distributors, Independent Electrical Contractors Consumer Technology Association, Home Care Association, Restaurant Law Center, and U.S. Council for International Business.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center aims to protect the rights of small business owners in courts across the nation. Currently, NFIB is involved in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court.
