Key Points
- Strong antitrust enforcement is expected to continue, but without the use of the novel and untested legal theories that defined the Biden administration approach.
- Regulators are likely to continue to focus...more
On January 16, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) released the Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (Guidelines),...more
1/30/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Wage and Hour
More than four years after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released the Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals in 2016 (Antitrust Guidance), the DOJ has...more
2/22/2021
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Indictments ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
On August 11, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decisively reversed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC or Commission) controversial district court win challenging Qualcomm’s licensing practices. In...more
8/18/2020
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Lack of Evidence ,
Monopolization ,
OEM ,
Patent Royalties ,
Qualcomm ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents
Federal district courts around the country continue to grapple with how to analyze “no-poach” agreements — whereby two or more companies agree not to hire or recruit each other’s workers — under the antitrust laws. Beginning...more
5/2/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Defense Contracts ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Popular ,
Restraint of Trade ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard of Review
Antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continues to evolve as private cases progress, state attorneys general ramp up enforcement efforts and federal regulators further contemplate the legality of no-poach agreements....more
Legal battles over the antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continue to escalate with new district court decisions and new pronouncements from two “titans” of antitrust policy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
6/10/2019
/ AAI ,
American Antitrust Institute ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dominos ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Quick Look Analysis ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Vertical Restraints
On February 25, 2019, in FTC v. Shire ViroPharma, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cannot plead its way into federal court via Section 13(b) of the FTC...more
3/2/2019
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Administrative Remedies ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Disgorgement ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Generic Drugs ,
Illegal Profits ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Remedies ,
Restitution ,
Unfair Competition
Evolving antitrust treatment of so-called “no-poach” agreements continues to offer important guidance for company counsel and human resources professionals. Over the past two years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has...more
2/12/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Horizontal Restraint ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
No-Poaching ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Universities
In recent weeks, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included...more
10/18/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws
Fifteen months after the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intention to criminally pursue no-poaching agreements — in which competitors agree not to recruit or hire each other’s employees —...more
4/25/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Technology Sector
On October 20, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued new guidance designed to help human resources professionals and their companies understand...more
11/4/2016
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Technology Sector ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing