The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and three other business groups sued the Federal Trade Commission to block a ban on agreements that are used to prevent employees in various industries, including real estate, from leaving to work for competitors.

The lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas federal court Wednesday alleges that the FTC lacks the authority to adopt the measure expected to ban nearly all non-compete employee agreements. The commission voted 3-2 to approve the rule that it issued this week and is slated to take effect in August.

The U.S. Chamber, the Business Roundtable, the Texas Association of Business and the Longview Chamber of Commerce in Longview, Texas, argued in the lawsuit that “the sheer economic and political significance of a nationwide noncompete ban demonstrates that this is a question for Congress to decide, rather than an agency.”

Suzanne P. Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber that represents nearly 3 million businesses, said in a statement that “the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to ban employer noncompete agreements across the economy is not only unlawful but also a blatant power grab that will undermine American businesses’ ability to remain competitive.”

Clark added that the decision "sets a dangerous precedent for government micromanagement of business and can harm employers, workers, and our economy.”

The FTC determined in its final rule that noncompete agreements are an unfair method of competition. The commission estimates that roughly 18% of the U.S. workforce, about 30 million U.S. employees, are covered by the agreements. The noncompete agreements serve to keep wages low, suppress new ideas and "rob the American economy of dynamism,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement this week.

President Biden signed a bill Wednesday that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States, even as the social media giant proceeds with plans to significantly expand its office footprint across the country and says it will "challenge" the measure in court.

The new law, folded into a $95 billion aid package to provide weapons and other assistance to Ukraine, Israel and other global hotspots, gives TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance up to a year to sell the popular video-sharing platform, or face being banned from U.S. app stores and internet services.

The approval of the bill by Congress and its signing by the president come as TikTok has reached deals to rapidly expand its portfolio of offices across the country, including recent leases to establish a permanent hub in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Silicon Valley area in San Jose, California.

The company earlier this year leased 155,000 square feet near Seattle in Bellevue, Washington, increasing the company's Pacific Northwest footprint to more than 250,000 square feet.

The potential ban “would devastate 7 million businesses and silence 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a post Wednesday on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. The company added that it “will continue investing and innovating” as it fights the law.