The U.S. Chamber of Commerce met the Federal Trade Commission’s late April announcement that it would ban all future employee noncompete agreements with a simple, uncompromising declaration: See you in court.

"The sheer economic and political significance of a nationwide noncompete ban demonstrates that this is a question for Congress to decide, rather than an agency," the lawsuit says.Start the day smarter.

Employers have long believed that a non-compete allows them to protect their trade secrets. They believed non-competes allowed them to protect their financial investment in workers. And, employees often had no choice. If you wanted to take a job, a non-compete was just part of the arrangement.

Experts said the ruling could see judicial challenges, but that workers would nevertheless benefit in the meantime.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, 30 million people — roughly one in five workers — are now subject to such restrictions.

In one move, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements, which prevent millions of workers from taking a job at a competitor for a specific period of time.

The FTC's decision to ban noncompete agreements could make it easier for doctors and other healthcare workers to switch jobs. But business groups say they will sue to block it.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans a legal challenge to the rule; a construction group is weighing a similar action.

On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission voted to implement a sweeping new rule that bans all existing and new non-compete agreements for

Proponents say a sweeping ban on noncompete clauses should boost workers, but the new rules face serious legal challenges.

HOUSTON - In a move to boost worker mobility, the FTC bans non-compete agreements for most workers. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV,