President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that will restrict worker non-compete agreements. The goal is to increase competition in the marketplace and limit big corporations’ limitations on their workers’ ability to move up the ladder in their careers.
In his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden ran on the promise to get rid of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. He has argued that it limits employees particularly in their scope of negotiating for or seeking higher wages, securing more benefits and striving for better working conditions under different employers.
Even as vice president, Biden was for ending non-compete agreements while former President Barack Obama championed ending them in the final years of his term.
As president now, Biden has urged the Federal Trade Commission to curtail non-compete policies and ban occupational licensing requirements that might be unnecessary.
Additionally, he wants to encourage the FTC to stop employers from sharing their employees’ pay information as releasing that kind of sensitive information could harm workers’ ability to secure higher wages in the marketplace.
It will be hard to know whether or not this order would make a difference because usually requirements regarding occupational licenses are determined through individual states’ policies. The success of the order depends on how the regulators will frame new rules and restrictions for non-compete agreements.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the president hopes the order will “promote competition in labor markets.”
