As the Biden administration calls for tougher antitrust enforcement, the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry faces increased antitrust scrutiny. In this Law360 article, McDermott’s Jon Dubrow, Lisa Rumin and Anthony Ferrara explain how policy changes by the Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Defense may affect A&D industry participants in various aspects of their businesses, including mergers and acquisitions, teaming agreements and labor practices. The authors also offer suggestions to help these companies mitigate antitrust risk arising from heightened antitrust scrutiny of the industry.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering a rulemaking to address the use of non-compete provisions in employment contracts. On January 9, 2020, the FTC held a day-long workshop to start a public conversation on whether it should use its rulemaking power to take on this issue. The two Democratic Commissioners have expressed strong support for an FTC rulemaking, while the Republican Commissioners appear less open to a rulemaking effort.
If the FTC were to regulate non-competes, this would be a significant development in an area traditionally governed by state law. It remains unclear whether the FTC will move forward with a rulemaking and what a potential FTC rule would look like. However, the FTC workshop highlights growing concern about non-competes and their impacts on workers and labor markets.
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