On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or the “Commission”) voted to finalize a rule abolishing the vast majority of employee noncompetes across the United States (the “Noncompete Rule” or “Rule”). The FTC...more
4/25/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published a blog post warning that the use of algorithms to assist in determining prices may violate federal antitrust laws, regardless of the business or industry. The FTC...more
We have received several requests for a list of the compliance policies that make sense for every multinational company. So, as a follow-up to our earlier two posts providing “twelve steps to international compliance” (see...more
1/4/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Books & Records ,
Code of Conduct ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Copyright ,
Customs ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethics ,
Export Controls ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Human Trafficking ,
Imports ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Controls ,
Litigation Hold ,
Multinationals ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Social Media ,
Supply Chain ,
Trademarks ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
A recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstates allegations against McDonald’s that no-poach provisions in the company’s franchise agreements violate the antitrust laws, holding that such...more
For the first time in 40 years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action to enforce Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits so-called interlocking directorates. In the same action, the FTC mounted its first...more
On July 19, 2023, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) released a draft set of revised Merger Guidelines (the Revised Guidelines) to set forth the...more
On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the concurrence of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, announced a wide range of significant proposed changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) pre-merger...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently issued a long-anticipated ruling in an antitrust challenge to the so-called Northeast Alliance, or NEA, between American Airlines Group Inc. and JetBlue...more
As part of the Biden Administration’s enhanced antitrust enforcement efforts, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking a new look at the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA). Several investigations are already underway, with calls...more
Manufacturing companies should actively prepare for heightened antitrust scrutiny of their business practices in 2023, including practices that have not traditionally garnered the focus of the federal antitrust enforcers. ...more
On February 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that it is withdrawing three policy statements the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued between 1993 and 2011, related to...more
2/7/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Sharing ,
Joe Biden ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sherman Act ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On January 26, 2023, the FTC published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the latest annual adjustments to the statutory thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. § 18a)...more
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an omnibus spending bill that also contained several pieces of key antitrust legislation. In particular, the law included a bill...more
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed regulation that, if adopted, would essentially abolish employee noncompetes across the United States. A proposed FTC regulation on employee...more
1/9/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants
As part of the Biden Administration’s ongoing efforts to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement and the promotion of competition, on November 10, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a new “Policy Statement Regarding...more
In November 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), an interagency partnership composed of prosecutors from the Antitrust Division and the United States...more
With steep inflation and seemingly constant disruptions in supply chains for all manner of goods, the Biden Administration has turned increasingly to antitrust authorities to tame price increases and stem future bottlenecks....more
8/4/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Market Manipulation ,
Price Inflation ,
Request For Information ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
Earlier this month — July 9, 2022 — marked the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (Executive Order). The Executive Order was notable in its breadth and...more
7/27/2022
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Healthcare ,
Manufacturers ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Mergers ,
NIST ,
NLRB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
ROI ,
USDA ,
USPTO
On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division released updated guidance on its Leniency Program, which protects companies and employees who cooperate with the government from prosecution for their...more
On March 1, 2022, a federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), holding that Ford’s Brand Exclusivity Standard, part of Ford’s Lincoln Commitment Program, does not violate the...more
The spring thaw has yet to set in, but Washington this month has been a hotbed of antitrust regulatory activity impacting supply chains. On February 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Lockheed Martin...more
As reported in the last several months, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and other federal agencies continue to carry out the objectives of the Biden Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy...more
The advent of new technology brings along with it the murkiness of how the American legal system will treat such technology. Before the rise of blockchain for instance, businesses were uncertain how courts would treat...more
10/8/2021
/ Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
E-SIGN ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Governance Standards ,
Service Level Agreements ,
Smart Contracts ,
Supply Chain ,
Termination ,
UETA
Last week saw two notable competition-related developments from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The first relates to the FTC’s approval of eight new compulsory process resolutions in high-priority areas. The second...more
9/27/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Common Ownership ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Monopolization ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
The Clayton Act ,
Vertical Mergers
It seems that hardly a day passes without an antitrust issue ending up on the front page of the newspaper. In the last several months, politicians, government officials, and enforcers alike continue to focus on their desire...more