[mbreese]

Where I am, I know people who are under noncompetes that have a geographical clause. You can’t leave to join a competitor within X miles. In my part of the country, that would include at least three states (maybe more), but other locations would include many more.

So, yeah, seems like at least those non-competes impacts interstate commerce.

[kube-system]

You're conflating two different things.

The reason those geographical clauses are in those contracts is because many states have ruled that non-competes are illegal unless they are limited in some ways to be "reasonable", and one common way states courts measure this is by ensuring that they are limited to something that might be a reasonable 'business area' that the company competes in. Corporate lawyers typically write in the exact radius that state courts have historically enforced into their non-competes to avoid them being disqualified for being too broad.

"Interstate commerce" on the other hand, just means any sort of business activity that crosses state lines. Basically every business engages in interstate commerce, just because commerce requires many interstate activities, like using the internet, or accepting electronic payments, or ordering supplies made in a different state.

[mbreese]

No, I’m not conflating them. I do appreciate why they are written with geographical clauses, but I have always found it odd (and probably unenforceable).

I’m just saying that non-competes like this should be regulated under Federal authority because they explicitly cover geographic areas that include multiple states. That’s in addition to the impacts on “interstate commerce” proper (which as you said is basically all commerce).

Said another way: I find the argument that non-competes should be allowed or disallowed under the authority of only state laws to be lacking. If a contract in state A dictates what you can do in state B, it’s an interstate issue and Federal law could (should?) be involved.

[kube-system]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse. First of all, basically any company with a noncompete clause is already doing significant interstate commerce. And if a company is arguing that a neighboring state is within their area of competition, they're implying the same.

And regardless, federal power to regulate commerce hinges on actual interstate commerce taking place. A contract between two entities in one state, under the laws of that one state, that merely mentions another state, isn't interstate commerce.