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Nonmanufacturer Rule Applies to Procurements for Services

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.25.14

In Rotech Healthcare Inc. v. U.S. (Sept. 19), the Court of Federal Claims enjoined the Department of Veterans Affairs from moving forward with a procurement for home oxygen supplies and services issued under a NAICS Code for services, finding that the solicitation violated the statutory "nonmanufacturer rule" (NMR)—a provision that requires nonmanufacturer recipients of small business set-aside contracts for products to provide the products of domestic small business manufacturers or processors. Relying on a 2006 CFC decision instead of a subsequent, unambiguous SBA regulation that limited the NMR to procurements assigned manufacturing or supply NAICS codes, the court explained that Congress intended the NMR to apply to mixed service and supply contracts irrespective of NAICS code.


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Client Alert | 8 min read | 09.09.25

FTC Stops Defending Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements, Opting Instead for “Aggressive” Case-by-Case Enforcement

On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) withdrew its appeals of decisions issued by Texas and Florida federal district courts, which enjoined the FTC from enforcing a nationwide rule banning almost all noncompete employment agreements. Companies, however, should not read this decision to mean that their noncompete agreements will no longer be subjected to antitrust scrutiny by federal enforcers. In a statement joined by Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Chairman Andrew Ferguson stressed that the FTC “will continue to enforce the antitrust laws aggressively against noncompete agreements” and warned that “firms in industries plagued by thickets of noncompete agreements will receive [in the coming days] warning letters from me, urging them to consider abandoning those agreements as the Commission prepares investigations and enforcement actions.”...