The FTC estimates about 30 million people, or one in five American workers, from minimum wage earners to CEOs, are bound by noncompetes. It says the policy change could lead to increased wages totaling nearly $300 billion per year by encouraging people to swap jobs freely.
And that’s the point. It keeps lower-wage workers at bay, because a waged worker typically doesn’t have the time or resources for a long, drawn out court battle.