Companies across industries should review hiring policies pre-emptively to avoid serious law enforcement consequences.

On October 20, 2016, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ( together the Agencies) announced that agreements between companies not to hire each other’s employees (no-poaching agreements) and agreements not to compete on salaries or terms of employment (“wage-fixing agreements”) will be “criminally investigated and prosecuted as hardcore cartel conduct.”1 Accordingly, companies and individuals who engage in this type of conduct may face substantial monetary penalties and jail time.