FTC’s noncompete decision signals major shifts in IT job market ahead

“Without using noncompete agreements, businesses in the software industry will need to increase their focus on alternative ways to protect themselves and their assets, including implementing policies and practices that better track the access and use of confidential and proprietary information and developing agreements that more specifically address restricting the use of trade secrets,” he added.

Although the ban could lead to more job movement, fostering innovation, it may also increase business risks, said Lauren Aydinliyim, a former in-house lawyer in the software industry and a current professor at Baruch College in New York City whose research focuses on employee noncompete agreements.

“Software companies will need to find new ways to protect their confidential information without relying on traditional noncompetes or perhaps even existing NDAs and the like,” she said. “This could require reevaluating current practices and exploring alternative strategies for maintaining business continuity.”