[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20441-20442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07036]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 910

RIN 3084-AB74


Non-Compete Clause Rule; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of public comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is 
extending the deadline for filing comments on its notice of proposed 
rulemaking (``NPRM'') regarding the Non-Compete Clause Rule.

DATES: For the NPRM published January 19, 2023 (88 FR 3482), the 
comment deadline is extended from March 20, 2023, to April 19, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karuna Patel (202-326-2510), 
[email protected]; Shannon Lane (202-326-2299), [email protected]; or David 
O. Fisher, (202-341-8605), [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Comment Period Extension

    On January 5, 2023, the Commission announced and made public its 
notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Non-Compete Rule, including 
its request for public comment on all aspects of the proposed rule. The 
NPRM was subsequently published in the Federal Register, with March 20, 
2023, established as the deadline for the submission of comments. See 
88 FR 3482 (January 19, 2023).
    Interested parties have requested an extension of the public 
comment period to give them additional time to respond to the NPRM's 
request for comment, while others oppose such an extension and any 
potential delay. While the Commission believes that the current 60-day 
period--which is 74 days after public release of the notice of proposed 
rulemaking--is sufficient for meaningful comment and public 
participation, the Commission agrees to allow the public additional 
time to prepare and file comments. The Commission has therefore 
extended the comment period to April 19, 2023, to provide commenters a 
total of 104 days from the public release of the NPRM on January 5, 
2023. This is a 30-day extension of the 60-day comment period from 
publication in the Federal Register on January 19, 2023. Additionally, 
the Commission requests public comment on a study, authored in part by 
a Commission economist, on the value that firms attach to 
enforceability of noncompete agreements. See Hiraiwa, Lipsitz, Starr, 
Do firms value court enforceability of noncompete agreements? A 
revealed preference approach, (February 20, 2023) available at SSRN: 
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4364674.

II. Request for Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 19, 2023. 
Write ``Non-Compete Clause Rulemaking, Matter No. P201200'' on your 
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Because of the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly 
encourage you to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov website. To ensure the Commission considers your 
online comment, please follow the instructions on the web-based form.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Non-Compete Clause 
Rulemaking, Matter No. P201200'' on your comment and on the envelope, 
and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex C), Washington, DC 20580.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for 
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social 
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or

[[Page 20442]]

confidential''--as provided by 15 U.S.C. 46(f) and 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including, in particular, competitively sensitive information such as 
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with 16 CFR 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. Your comment will be kept confidential only if the 
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at https://www.regulations.gov--as legally required by 16 CFR 4.9(b)--we cannot 
redact or remove your comment, unless you submit a confidentiality 
request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 
4.9(c) and the General Counsel grants that request.
    Visit the Commission's website, www.ftc.gov, to read this document 
and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws the 
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to 
consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will 
consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on 
or before April 19, 2023. For information on the Commission's privacy 
policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see 
https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

    By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.

    Note: The following statement will not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations:

Concurring Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson

    The Commission received requests to extend the period for public 
comments on the proposed Non-Compete Clause Rule by 60 days or more. 
The Commission also received requests that the comment period not be 
extended. Today, the Commission announces its decision to extend the 
public comment period by 30 days. Given that the proposed rule is a 
departure from hundreds of years of precedent and would prohibit 
conduct that 47 states allow, I would have supported extending the 
public comment by 60 days.
    I continue to encourage all interested parties to comment on all 
issues and alternatives to the proposed rule that are identified in the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 2023-07036 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P