Almost 30 million U.S. workers have noncompete provisions in their contract, according to an Oct. 4 report from U.S. News & World Report.
Here are five notes from the report to know:
1. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found in a May 2023 review that few employees negotiate these contracts and many do not fully understand the provisions.
2. The Federal Trade Commission is considering a national noncompete ban and estimates that ending the provision could increase American wages by $300 billion each year.
3. Noncompetes, which companies often justify by saying they must protect their trade secrets, "can effectively force people to change careers or move to a new location," the report said.
4. Workers are often caught violating a contract by emailing something to their home account, the report said. Often employees email themselves something, such as a list of contacts, and employers find these transmissions after they leave.
5. Many contracts bar workers from doing business within a given radius, but because customers are often concentrated, the stipulation could be invalid. Others provide time constraints, but courts may invalidate them because they prevent a person from approaching current and former clients.