On February 10, 2025, The Buckeye Institute submitted an amicus brief in the case of Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The institute contends that the FTC overstepped its statutory authority by imposing strict limitations on noncompete clauses in employment contracts.
Robert Alt, president and CEO of The Buckeye Institute and counsel of record on this brief, stated, "One hundred and fourteen years after the Federal Trade Commission Act was adopted, the FTC is asserting that it suddenly possesses not only the expertise but the authority to regulate noncompete clauses in employment contracts. It does not."
The Buckeye Institute further argues that the FTC's rule breaches both the Administrative Procedure Act and the major questions doctrine. They claim it is arbitrary and capricious as it disregards established policies across 47 states.
Alt added, “Rather than allow the states to continue operating as thriving laboratories of democracy, the FTC has belatedly entered the chat with a one-size-fits-all/Washington knows best rule. If that weren’t bad enough, the FTC lacks the statutory authority to regulate noncompete agreements. Enough!”