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FTC Charges Three Firms Over Noncompete Agreements

By  |  January 4, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission found that Prudential Security, O-I Glass, and Ardagh Group engaged their workers in allegedly illegal noncompete agreements, marking the first time the antitrust regulator ordered companies to refrain from such deals.

“The commission finds that the use of noncompetes by these firms constituted an unfair method of competition and violated Section 5 of the FTC Act,” the agency said Wednesday.

The agency’s orders require Prudential Security, a Michigan-based security services company, to terminate the agreements with its security guards.

Related: The FTC Sues Endo and Impax Over Opana ER Agreement . . . Again

O-I Glass and Ardagh are prohibited from imposing or enforcing non compete agreements on workers, according to an FTC statement.

Democratic commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter joined Khan in issuing the orders. Republican Commissioner Christine Wilson dissented.