News & Analysis as of

Anti-Competitive No-Poaching

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

European Commission Turns Focus to Competition in Labour Markets, Targeting Wage-Fixing and No-Poach Agreements

As a new policy statement from the European Commission (EC) treats wage-fixing and no-poach agreements as inherently anticompetitive (restriction of competition “by object”) with few possible defences, companies should...more

White & Case LLP

Labour related agreements in the European Commission’s antitrust spotlight: New Policy Brief on Antitrust in Labour Markets

White & Case LLP on

Until now, the European Commission's (EC) antitrust focus on labour-related issues has been timid. This may soon change. The EC has recently published a policy brief on labour markets, explaining that in its view, wage-fixing...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

SCOTUS Denies Petition to Review McDonald’s No Poach Lawsuit

On March 18, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Supreme Court”) denied a petition for writ of certiorari brought by McDonald’s USA, LLC (“McDonald’s”). McDonald’s had asked the Supreme Court to review a...more

BCLP

CMA Hits Accelerator on Enforcement of UK Labour Markets

BCLP on

Whilst not traditionally a focus of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), the UK’s labour markets now form one of the CMA’s strategic priorities, as outlined in its 2023 to 2024 Annual Plan....more

Littler

Federal and State Authorities Bring Antitrust Enforcement to the Contingent Workforce Sector

Littler on

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and now state attorneys general, have set their sights on staffing companies in their evolving efforts to examine labor markets through an antitrust lens....more

K&L Gates LLP

DOJ Jettisons Its Last Criminal No-Poach Prosecution, but Antitrust Scrutiny of Labor Markets is Here to Stay

K&L Gates LLP on

Nearly seven years after first announcing its intent to criminally prosecute employers and individuals for anticompetitive conduct in labor markets, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ or Division) voluntarily...more

Cole Schotz

Employer Update: DOJ Drops Final No-Poach Prosecution Case

Cole Schotz on

On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) moved to drop its last remaining no-poach criminal prosecution case, U.S. v. Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, et al. This marks an informal end to the DOJ’s...more

Epstein Becker & Green

DOJ Seeks to Dismiss Its Last Pending No-Poach Criminal Action

Epstein Becker & Green on

As we discussed earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in recent years has brought numerous criminal prosecutions against companies accused of engaging in so-called “naked” no-poach agreements, i.e.,...more

Cozen O'Connor

AGs Argue Jackson Hewitt Must be Held to Account for No-Poach Agreements

Cozen O'Connor on

A coalition of 19 Democratic AGs, led by New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in support of former tax preparers for Jackson Hewitt, Inc., who allege...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Antitrust for HR professionals

Maybe don’t get a drink with your competitor. These are not easy times to be in human resources. Attracting, recruiting, and retaining talented employees is as challenging as ever. As I have previously written, wages are...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Restrictive Covenant Crackdown Poses New Challenges for M&A Deal Teams

Latham & Watkins LLP on

Corporates and deal teams should pay careful attention to drafting non-competes and other restrictive arrangements as UK, EU, and US regulators step up enforcement. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are placing...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Seventh Circuit Rejects Dismissal of Franchisee No-Poach Clause Challenge

Quarles & Brady LLP on

In Deslandes v. McDonald’s USA LLC, issued August 25, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the dismissal of antitrust claims that challenged no-poach clauses in franchise agreements....more

Cozen O'Connor

AGs Fight Against Saks No-Poach Agreements with Luxury Brands

Cozen O'Connor on

A coalition of 21 AGs filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in support of former Saks retail store employees who allege that they were harmed by “no-poach” agreements between Saks and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

DOJ Suffers Rare Acquittal From the Bench in Fourth Criminal No-Poach Loss

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

Cole Schotz

Connecticut Federal Judge Tosses DOJ’s Latest No-Poach Trial

Cole Schotz on

In a noteworthy upset last week, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s latest – and largest – anti-poach case brought to trial yet, opting to decline sending the...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: The Department of Justice Fails to Persuade Jury in Most Recent No-Poach Prosecution Defeat

Jenner & Block on

The DOJ Loses Jury Trial on No-Poach Conspiracy Charges. In the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s attack on non-competes, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lost its most recent fight in its related battle against...more

Troutman Pepper

New York AG Cracks Down on No-Poach Agreements

Troutman Pepper on

New York Attorney General Letitia James recently reached a $400,000 settlement with Affordable Senior Care of New York LLC (Affordable) for engaging in anticompetitive conduct in the homecare industry. New York-based...more

Morgan Lewis

Global Cartel Enforcement Report 2022

Morgan Lewis on

With a couple of notable exceptions, cartel fines were lower in most jurisdictions in 2022 than in the prior year—and well below historical norms. Fines in the United States—long the leader in cartel enforcement—were lower...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Competition Bureau Seeks Feedback on Enforcement Guidance for Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements

Bennett Jones LLP on

Last year, the Competition Act was amended to make it a criminal offense for two or more unrelated employers to enter into wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements. As we discussed last summer, these new provisions come into...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Competition Bureau Publishes New Draft Enforcement Guidelines on Wage-Fixing and No Poaching Agreements

Stikeman Elliott LLP on

On January 18, 2023, the Competition Bureau published draft enforcement guidelines on wage-fixing and no poaching agreements, inviting interested parties to provide their comments no later than March 3, 2023. The draft...more

Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law &...

The DOJ Gets the Green Light in its Latest No-Poach Criminal Prosecution

It has been a tumultuous year for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its recent no-poach criminal prosecution strategy. No-poach agreements, which are arrangements between companies that place restrictions on the hiring...more

Bilzin Sumberg

Eleventh Circuit Revives Putative Class Action Against Burger King for Violation of Federal Antitrust Laws Based on No-Poaching...

Bilzin Sumberg on

Arrington v. Burger King Worldwide, Inc., No. 20-13561 (11th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) – In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint in the District Court...more

Frantz Ward LLP

Unlocking the Handcuffs: Department of Justice Obtains Guilty Plea in “No-Poach” Hiring Agreement Case

Frantz Ward LLP on

The Department of Justice has claimed its first victory in attacking “no-poach” agreements after a Nevada staffing company pled guilty and was sentenced to pay $134,000.  The case arose out of a concerted effort by the...more

Cole Schotz

Employer Alert: DOJ’s Active Prosecution of Employer “No-Poach” Agreements Nets First Guilty Plea

Cole Schotz on

The DOJ is cracking down on anticompetitive activities- In connection with the Biden administration’s aims at promoting competition throughout the economy, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has started taking a more active...more

Dechert LLP

Criminal guilty plea in nurse staffing case shows labor market antitrust concerns are not going away

Dechert LLP on

Over the past several years, U.S. antitrust agencies have renewed enforcement focus on labor issues, including agreements involving employee hiring and compensation. These include agreements by horizontal competitors to set...more

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