In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
10/4/2023
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
McDonalds ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
Many recent no-poach agreement antitrust claims have risen within the franchise context, where the alleged agreement was plainly described in the operative franchise agreements. In those cases, the parties fought over what...more
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed a Superior Court order in Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. v. Beemac Trucking, LLC et al., No. 31 WAP 2019, finding a no-hire provision between competing, sophisticated...more
Are franchisees dependent offshoots of their franchisors, or are they standalone businesses capable of independent decision-making?...more
On April 13, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (the Agencies) issued a joint statement reiterating that antitrust laws protect U.S. labor markets even...more
On January 11, an en banc panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a trial court’s decision declaring that a no-hire provision in a commercial contract between two businesses was void and unenforceable under...more
1/28/2019
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Impression ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
In order to avoid a lawsuit by the Washington State Attorney General, seven fast-food chains with store locations nationwide agreed to no longer enforce “no-poach/no-hire” provisions in their franchise agreements and to...more
Agreements among companies to not hire each other’s workers are more risky than ever. The DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, stated on January 19 that the division has criminal cases...more
4/5/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
No-Poaching ,
Proposed Legislation
The Third Circuit’s decision is a pointed reminder to franchisors, as well as businesses that use independent contractors, that the form of their agreements can either serve their legal interests or harm them in employee...more
9/23/2016
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FedEx ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour