Tory Summey was quoted in Marketplace, a national radio program focused on business and the economy, about the Federal Trade Commission's recent ban on noncompetes. The FTC issued its final rule about noncompetes on April 23. The final rule applies nationwide and proactively prohibits employers from entering into noncompete clauses with most workers and requires employers to rescind most existing noncompete clauses. The rule preempts all inconsistent state and local laws or regulations. According to the FTC, noncompetes violate longstanding federal law prohibiting unfair methods of competition.

Even though the rule targeted noncompetes, employers still have other tools at their disposal when it comes to protecting key business relationships, and preventing proprietary information like trade secrets from leaving the door when an employee leaves. Nondisclosure agreements, non-solicitation of customer agreements, and non-solicitation of employee agreements remain available for employers.

"There’s still a lot of arrows in the quiver for employers that want to protect the real important things about their business," Tory told Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino.

Companies can move away from noncompete agreements and toward policies that more directly address what employees can and can’t do with company secrets, Tory said. 

Click here to read the full article: How Companies Can Protect Trade Secrets Without Noncompete Clauses

Marketplace is produced and distributed by American Public Media and reaches millions of weekly listeners.