Trust This. FTC No Non-Compete Rules

👋 Happy Friday the 13th 👻 For the pessimists: have fun staying in bed all day. For the optimists: happy 3-day weekend eve.

To bring some luck to readers, I’ve included a lucky 7️⃣ links to stories you may have missed this week instead of the usual 5️⃣.

Situation Awareness: Consumer prices rose 6.5% in the 12 months through December 2022. This is the slowest inflation in over a year. The Fed will probably use this good news to slow its roll on future rate hikes, keeping the next hike to no more than 25 bps.

1 big thing: No more non-competes?

On January 5, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule banning non-compete agreements between employers and employees or independent contractors, whether paid or unpaid.

Why it matters: Many employers use these agreements to incentivize employees to stay with the employer even if the pay and work conditions could be better elsewhere.

The big picture: Florida regulates non-competition agreements, specifying what a legal overreach regarding duration and geographic coverage is.

If it passes, the new rule would say that entering into or attempting to enter into a non-compete agreement with a worker would be an “unfair method of competition” under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. No prohibitions on confidentiality or non-solicitation of other employees.

By the numbers: FTC estimates that such a ban could

Our thought bubble: If this rule passes, it will be challenged on the theory that the FTC is overstepping its authority. Based on how the courts have leaned when similar arguments were made against CFPB and EPA, it’s a non-starter.

Go deeper: FTC’s rule and public comment site.

2. Advice from the trenches

On Tuesday, I had the honor of speaking on a panel at CFRI along with Fern C. Burr, Todd Hutcheson, and Phil Georges. The dialog between the audience and panel members was enlightening.

We shared current information about the state of sales, rentals, and real estate investor sentiment — and concerns — during the hour-long discussion.

The trajectory of rental rates was a hot topic that generated some debate when an audience member asked the panel what we thought rental rates would do over the next year.

When asked about the best time for a new investor to enter the market, Phil said that “now” is always the best time to get into real estate as an investment.

The bottom line: The panelists had some final tips for the audience:

Our thought bubble: Sharing an evening with friends is always nice.

3. What passed by

4. Pic of the day

Edward called shotgun on the way home, so he played navigator as Rufus napped in the backseat.

Unfortunately, my car isn’t a “Fast Car.”

We hope you found this helpful — any feedback is appreciated and can be shared by hitting reply or using the feedback feature below.

Be on the lookout for our next issue! 👋