Labor markets have been a focus of antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since the Obama administration. Indications are that enforcers will be even more aggressive across...more
3/26/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Wage-Fixing
In the latest setback in the Department Justice Antitrust Division’s (DOJ) attempts to prosecute “no-poach” agreements criminally, a federal judge acquitted from the bench all six defendant employees of aerospace engineering...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division — for the third time in the span of a year — recently failed to convince a jury that alleged agreements to fix or stabilize labor markets should be punished criminally. It...more
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
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
In February, the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law and the International Bar Association’s Antitrust Committee hosted the 13th International Cartel Workshop in San Francisco. Over the course of three days,...more
3/10/2020
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Leniency Guidelines ,
No-Poaching ,
Penalties ,
UK Brexit
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
In early February 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to file statements of interest in multiple ongoing private lawsuits to clarify how “no-poach” agreements should be evaluated under the federal...more
3/19/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Venture ,
No-Poaching ,
Railways ,
Regulatory Oversight
Skadden’s Antitrust and Competition Group and the economics firm Charles River Associates recently co-hosted the ninth annual “Antitrust in the Technology Sector: Policy Perspectives and Insights From the Enforcers” seminar...more
3/5/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
AT&T ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Cloud Computing ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Innovation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
Online Platforms ,
Qualcomm ,
Reputational Injury ,
Social Media ,
Technology Sector ,
Time Warner ,
Vertical Mergers
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
Richard A. Powers has recently joined the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division as the acting deputy assistant attorney general (DAAG) for criminal enforcement and is expected to take on the role permanently. This is...more
5/21/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Antitrust Division ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Leniency Programs ,
No-Poaching ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Privilege Waivers
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