Brian Albrecht on Employee Noncompetes

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was cited by IP Watchdog in a story about the Federal Trade Commission’s planned vote on rules to ban nearly all noncompete clauses in employment contracts. You can read the full piece here.

Brian Albrecht, Chief Economist of the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE), said in an article for Truth on the Market that, while he recognizes the potential for abusive practices associated with noncompetes, he does not support a complete ban. “[T]here is a simple economic rationale for the contract: noncompetes encourage both parties to invest in the employee-employer relationship, just like marriage contracts encourage spouses to invest in each other,” Albrecht wrote. And in official comments submitted on the proposal, ICLE said the need for a complete ban is not supported by the evidence or the Commission’s experience.