Proposed Rule2023-07036
Non-Compete Clause Rule; Extension of Comment Period
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 6, 2023
Effective
January 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") is extending the deadline for filing comments on its notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPRM") regarding the Non-Compete Clause Rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20441-20442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07036]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 910
RIN 3084-AB74
Non-Compete Clause Rule; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of public comment
period.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is
extending the deadline for filing comments on its notice of proposed
rulemaking (``NPRM'') regarding the Non-Compete Clause Rule.
DATES: For the NPRM published January 19, 2023 (88 FR 3482), the
comment deadline is extended from March 20, 2023, to April 19, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karuna Patel (202-326-2510),
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e388938297868fd2a3859780cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8fe4ffeefbeae3becfe9fbeca1e8e0f9">[email protected]</span></a>; Shannon Lane (202-326-2299), <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#33405f525d56735547501d545c45"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="70031c111e15301604135e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>; or David
O. Fisher, (202-341-8605), <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f195979882999483b1978592df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="294d4f405a414c5b694f5d4a074e465f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Comment Period Extension
On January 5, 2023, the Commission announced and made public its
notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Non-Compete Rule, including
its request for public comment on all aspects of the proposed rule. The
NPRM was subsequently published in the Federal Register, with March 20,
2023, established as the deadline for the submission of comments. See
88 FR 3482 (January 19, 2023).
Interested parties have requested an extension of the public
comment period to give them additional time to respond to the NPRM's
request for comment, while others oppose such an extension and any
potential delay. While the Commission believes that the current 60-day
period--which is 74 days after public release of the notice of proposed
rulemaking--is sufficient for meaningful comment and public
participation, the Commission agrees to allow the public additional
time to prepare and file comments. The Commission has therefore
extended the comment period to April 19, 2023, to provide commenters a
total of 104 days from the public release of the NPRM on January 5,
2023. This is a 30-day extension of the 60-day comment period from
publication in the Federal Register on January 19, 2023. Additionally,
the Commission requests public comment on a study, authored in part by
a Commission economist, on the value that firms attach to
enforceability of noncompete agreements. See Hiraiwa, Lipsitz, Starr,
Do firms value court enforceability of noncompete agreements? A
revealed preference approach, (February 20, 2023) available at SSRN:
<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4364674">https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4364674</a>.
II. Request for Comment
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 19, 2023.
Write ``Non-Compete Clause Rulemaking, Matter No. P201200'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Because of the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly
encourage you to submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. To ensure the Commission considers your
online comment, please follow the instructions on the web-based form.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Non-Compete Clause
Rulemaking, Matter No. P201200'' on your comment and on the envelope,
and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex C), Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include any
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or
[[Page 20442]]
confidential''--as provided by 15 U.S.C. 46(f) and 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including, in particular, competitively sensitive information such as
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with 16 CFR 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. Your comment will be kept confidential only if the
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>--as legally required by 16 CFR 4.9(b)--we cannot
redact or remove your comment, unless you submit a confidentiality
request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule
4.9(c) and the General Counsel grants that request.
Visit the Commission's website, <a href="http://www.ftc.gov">www.ftc.gov</a>, to read this document
and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws the
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will
consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on
or before April 19, 2023. For information on the Commission's privacy
policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
Note: The following statement will not appear in the Code of
Federal Regulations:
Concurring Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson
The Commission received requests to extend the period for public
comments on the proposed Non-Compete Clause Rule by 60 days or more.
The Commission also received requests that the comment period not be
extended. Today, the Commission announces its decision to extend the
public comment period by 30 days. Given that the proposed rule is a
departure from hundreds of years of precedent and would prohibit
conduct that 47 states allow, I would have supported extending the
public comment by 60 days.
I continue to encourage all interested parties to comment on all
issues and alternatives to the proposed rule that are identified in the
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2023-07036 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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