Democrats gain control of FTC (Federal Trade Commission), with progressive chair wanting to push anti-trust laws, rein in non-competes

[SaysWho?]

How a long-fought Democratic win could pose trouble for Amazon and Elon Musk - POLITICO

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With the confirmation of a third Democrat to the Federal Trade Commission, the progressive chair regains the agency’s majority — and the ability to speed ahead with her priorities.

 

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The Senate’s confirmation of Georgetown University law professor Alvaro Bedoya on Wednesday will end a 2-2 partisan deadlock that kept many of Khan’s priorities on ice since October.
 

Now Khan has the leeway to pursue a potential antitrust suit against Amazon, crack down on employers’ non-compete agreements and go after middlemen blamed for increasing pharmaceutical prices — while taking steps to protect consumer privacy. And she may be able to cause headaches for Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter.

It’s all part of an aggressive anti-monopoly and consumer-protection agenda that has elated progressive activists and angered many Republican lawmakers since Khan took the helm of the agency in June.
 

But don’t assume Bedoya will be an automatic yes on everything Khan advances.

 

“It’s too soon to say that he will be a bulldog on antitrust issues, for instance,” cautioned Mary Lehner, a partner at the law firm Freshfields.

 

Still, Bedoya’s arrival at the FTC means the agency’s two Republicans no longer have the power to stymie Khan’s priorities. Here are some areas where he could provide the key vote:

 

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Rolling back non-competes

In an executive order last summer, President Joe Biden urged the FTC to bar or limit companies from requiring workers to sign deals that restrict their future employment. Such non-compete agreements, once the province of CEOs and other high-paid executives, have become ubiquitous throughout the economy, even among low-wage workers. About 1 in 5 Americans today is bound by non-competes — particularly in tech and health care, where the clauses are common.

 

Non-competes and other factors limiting competition for labor (such as non-disclosure agreements or mandatory arbitration) reduce workers’ wages between 15 and 25 percent, a Treasury Department study released in March found.

 

[Uaarkson]

Good…news? Huh?

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

Non-competes are bullshit. Good.