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Missouri's rules for enforcing non-compete agreements, and where federal regulation stands after the FTC's reversal

In April 2024, the FTC voted to ban nearly all non-compete agreements nationwide — then a federal court set the rule aside before it ever took effect, and the FTC itself abandoned the fight in 2025. With the federal ban dead, non-compete agreements in Missouri are governed the way they always have been: by Missouri's own reasonableness standard. Here's what that means for employers and employees alike.