Times Opinion: From sandwich shops to Silicon Valley, noncompetes are holding back US workers

Noncompete agreements, once reserved for executives with unique access to trade secrets, have gone mainstream in America. According to the Government Accountability Office, between 18% and 20% of U.S. workers are covered by one. From artificial intelligence organizations to sandwich shops, employees have been left unable to leave for competing businesses or start one of their own for defined periods of time.