
Why the Feds Want to Kill Noncompetes
About this episode
You might think of noncompete agreements as mostly limited to highly skilled, highly paid tech workers to protect trade secrets. But one-third of workers bound by noncompetes make $13/hour or less: fast-food workers, security guards, and the like.
Noncompete clauses not only give employers leverage over their employees—both during and after their employment—but studies have shown the agreements are a weight on the economy, which is why the FTC is angling for a federal ban.
Guest: Elizabeth Wilkins, director of the Office of Policy Planning, Federal Trade Commission
Host: Lizzie O’Leary
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Get every episode summarized
Each time What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

Meta Settled. Is it a "Reckoning?"
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

A.I. Enshittifies Everything (Still)
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

Can the Midterms Withstand Prediction Markets?
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

Are Flock Cameras Watching You?
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future