A pending motion in the case would pause the rule’s slated September start date and block enforcement while the suit is pending. Labor groups, local lawmakers and others have thrown their support behind the commission, while nearly a dozen national and international trade associations were among those to support the challenge in amicus briefs last month.
The brief from Gaetz contended that Congress passed the FTC Act in 1914 due to concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court had eroded the nation’s foundational antitrust law, the Sherman Act. The FTC Act created the commission and gave it the authority “to make rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions” of the act.
The brief also argues that Congress had several opportunities to limit the commission’s substantive rulemaking authority when passing laws that amended the FTC Act, including the Magnuson-Moss Act in 1975.
“Magnuson-Moss expanded the Commission’s authority to issue rules prohibiting ‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices,’ subject to heightened procedural requirements, and left intact the Commission’s authority to issue rules regarding ‘unfair methods of competition,'” the brief said.
