The Biden administration has issued a nationwide ban on the ability of employers to make their workers sign noncompete agreements, a move regulators said would help boost employee pay but which is set to be challenged in court by business groups. In a ruling Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said noncompete clauses would henceforth be illegal. The measure was necessary, it said, for "protecting the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increasing innovation, and fostering new business formation."