The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that it extended the public comment period on its proposed rule to prohibit employers from using noncompete agreements. The new deadline is April 19; previously, the deadline was March 20.

Noncompete agreements typically prohibit employees from working for competitor companies after their job ends for a specified amount of time and within a specified geography.

The FTC’s move to ban noncompetes had raised concerns among some in the industry, though backers of the ban argue it will be a benefit to workers and others. For more, see this article in Staffing Industry Review Online.