EP 453: Getting up to speed with the new FTC non-compete rule with Sharon Toerek

The FTC has recently passed regulations against non-compete clauses on a federal level in all work contracts. Starting in the fall of 2024, agencies will have new rules to comply with regarding their employees and independent contractors.

This will be a big shake-up for many agency owners, but luckily, Sharon Toerek is always by our side to walk us through any new legal requirements that hit us unexpectedly. In this episode, she covers a lot of ground on how agency owners can comply with the new FTC non-compete rules for both employees and independent contractors.

We cover the difference between non-competes and non-solicitation agreements, how agency owners can prepare to announce these changes to their workers, and how we can still legally protect our IP and client relationships.

Sharon stresses that the quicker we start working on compliance, the better prepared we’ll be for when this goes into effect in a few months. So don’t delay — tune in to learn how this affects your agency and how to get ahead on compliance over the summer.

A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• What covenants are still legal under the FTC non-compete ruling?
• What agency owners need to do to be compliant
• How these changes will affect your freelancers and independent contractors
• How to protect yourself if you’re selling your business
• Non-solicitation agreements vs. non-compete clauses
• Is the US ahead of or behind the times on this?
• How soon agency owners need to prepare new contracts or to announce the changes to employees
• Making sure your independent contractors are actually independent contractors
• The consequences of misclassifying employees as independent contractors