FTC Puts Spotlight on Worker Protections, Departs From Past GOP Practices

The Federal Trade Commission has indicated it will place more attention and resources on labor markets with the creation of a joint task force dedicated to protecting American workers.

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson wrote in a memo to staff last week that the task force is intended to scrutinize unfair and anticompetitive labor practices, including no-poach, nonsolicitation, no-hire and noncompete agreements, as well as wage fixing. The task force will also examine illegal coordination on diversity, equity and inclusion metrics, Feguson wrote.

The attention on labor markets is somewhat of a departure for Republican-led FTCs, attorneys said.

“I think the announcement of the task force shows that antitrust enforcement in labor markets is a bipartisan priority,” said Jenner & Block partner Chris Abbott. “It indicates that aggressive antitrust enforcement will likely continue through this administration, something that may surprise those more familiar with the pro-business wing of the Republican Party.”

Ferguson stated on X last week that “The GOP is a worker’s party—President Donald Trump’s historic victory last November made that clear. Americans who labor hard for a living are the lifeblood of this country and the FTC has their back.”

Mayer Brown partner Rachel Lamorte, who said the creation of a task force reflects a shift of attention toward labor markets by conservatives that has occurred over the last decade.

“I don’t think anyone was really expecting a Republican administration to take the lead on this,” she said.

Lamorte added she expects Ferguson to take a more traditional, cop-on-the-beat approach to enforcement of labor market issues, rather than a rulemaking approach favored by former Chair Lina Khan. Ferguson dissented from the FTC's adoption of the rule banning noncompete agreements, calling it “by far the most extraordinary assertion of authority in the Commission’s history.”

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer partner Debbie Feinstein said Ferguson’s approach to noncompete clauses will be markedly different from Khan’s.

“There's a complete difference between imposing a nationwide ban on noncompetes and saying that you use the antitrust laws on a case-by-case basis if there are anticompetitive noncompetes,” Feinstein said. “Those are a world apart.”

Ferguson, who has attacked DEI initiatives, indicated in the task force directive that he will use antitrust law to go after DEI hiring programs. He said DEI metrics could reduce labor competition by excluding certain workers from markets on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation.

“The specific mention of collusion or unlawful coordination on DEI metrics demonstrates that Chair Ferguson intends to find ways to use antitrust and consumer protection laws to advance the president's policy priorities,” said Abbott, of Jenner & Block.

While its creation indicates the FTC will scrutinize labor markets, the task force's success ultimately depends on whether the commission can weather staff reductions likely to come to the agency, Abbott said.

“They can announce task forces, but at the end of the day, people need to be there to do the investigations and build the cases,” he added.

Reprinted with permission from the March 5th edition of The National Law Journal © 2025 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.