This isn't the FTC's job and shouldn't be legal. If there are to be such laws, they should exist at the state level. And if they are to exist at the federal level, then it is Congress's job to do: not the FTC's.
> And if they are to exist at the federal level, then it is Congress's job to do: not the FTC's.
Congress did that already when it created the FTC and vested it with the power to decide what makes sense for trade and commerce. That is the role of agencies.
No, that's not how the U.S. Constitution works. The FTC is a member of the executive branch. The executive branch cannot arbitrarily make up laws and invalidate legal agreements. The FTC was vested with limited authority, to execute regulations that have been passed by Congress, not to make up their own laws as they go and as administrations change.
The FTC was created by Congress through the Federal Trade Commission Act, and it is explicitly empowered to regulate anything that would harm free competition, including passing rules like this one.
Congress is also free to decide that this sort of thing is an overreach and to further regulate the agency or narrow its scope, of course.
That said, this may fall under the purview of the FTC, although it strikes me as more of a Labor Department area.
I live in State A. I work for an employer who has little or no presence in State A, and they are based in State B.
I leave them and go to work for a new employer in State C, all while still remotely working from home.
Why should I be beholden to the laws of State B, that I've never resided in, as it determines my ability to conduct TRADE with a company in State C from State A?
And that's also why the FTC is involved. My professional work output is the service I have to offer. And I offer it in trade for an income. The FTC oversees more than just 'sale of consumer goods and product'.
If you lived in State A, where non-compete agreements are legal, and signed a non-compete agreement with your employer, then that should be enforceable, because the employer can always take you to court in State A. That's how everything is done in this country with regards to legal differences between states.
I'm not sure why you're capitalizing the word TRADE. It's as if you think because the FTC has the word trade in it, that it has the authority to enact laws and invalidate legal agreements that have to do with any kind of trade.
Without a broad ruling that says that Congress isn’t allowed to establish agencies and delegate their power, which might happen with this court, this is pretty much the process.
I agree with chrisco255 that things this important need to be done right. Nobody can rely upon it until it is properly done.
Only Congress can make (federal) laws. Regulations are needed in order to functionally implement laws. If congress disagrees with a given regulation by pretty much anybody, they are perfectly able to make a law to nullify it.