A federal judge struck down the ban on noncompete clauses by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that was set to take effect in September.

The ruling, handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown, came after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups sued the FTC. The Chamber and business groups claimed the FTC did not have the authority to ban noncompetes. Brown, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, entered a stay against the FTC on July 3, which had already prevented the agency from preparing to enforce compliance against the plaintiffs.

Aaron Nicodemus is the Editor-in-Chief of Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. Email: aaron.nicodemus@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...