The FTC wants to ban noncompetition agreements in employment contracts due to their negative effects on employee mobility, even when unenforceable. Prof. JJ Prescott will discuss three of his recent papers supporting this rulemaking, including the use and impact of noncompetes on employees, the role of noncompetes in employee mobility, and the subjective beliefs about noncompete enforceability. This research shows that contracts matter regardless of enforceability, making traditional reform ideas ineffective.