AGG Talks: Antitrust and White-Collar Crime Roundup - Inside the World of No-Poach Investigations and Indictments
#WorkforceWednesday: ACA Preventive Coverage Mandate Blocked, Another No-Poach Loss for DOJ, and Employers Prepare for the End of the COVID-19 Emergencies - Employment Law This Week®
Trade Secret / Restrictive Covenant 2022 Year In Review (Fairly Competing, Episode 19)
Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Podcast | Episode 100: Marguerite Willis, Nexsen Pruet Attorney
The Latest on Antitrust Compliance
III-42-The New Overtime Rule and Antitrust Issues With Your Non-Competes
Employment Law This Week®: Employee Mobility
II-31- The Changing 9 to 5 From 1980 to Today
Employment Law This Week®: Criminal Prosecution of Anti-Poaching Agreements, EEOC Publishes 2017 Data, Organizational Changes at NLRB, NYC’s “Cooperative Dialogue” Requirements
II-26 – Superbowl Concerns, Tax Reform/MeToo, Restrictive Covenant Crimes, and Expanded Religious Discrimination Theories
The Belgian Competition Authority recently rendered a decision imposing significant fines totaling EUR 47 million on competitors guilty of a variety of anti-competitive agreements, including ‘no-hire’ clauses....more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Parties in Criminal No-Poach Case Reach Pre-Trial Resolution - Recently, the parties in United States v. Hee notified District Court Judge Boulware of the District of Nevada that they reached a preliminary plea deal. The...more
On April 14, 2022, a Texas jury returned five not-guilty verdicts on six charges considered in the first federal criminal wage-fixing prosecution. A day later, on April 15, 2022, a Colorado federal jury entirely acquitted...more
For many federal government contractors, their skilled and experienced workforce may be their most valuable asset. A recent “ice breaker” settlement of a class action lawsuit, however, demonstrates the wrong way to protect...more
On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order that could have far-reaching implications for businesses across a broad spectrum of industries. The Executive Order takes a government-wide approach...more
The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) continues to investigate hiring practices in a number of industries for potential antitrust violations as part of its effort to scrutinize, and in some instances,...more
What happened? The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced that, on January 5, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Surgical Care Affiliates LLC and its related entity...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is carrying out its promise to prosecute illegal “no-poach” agreements between companies. Until last week, DOJ had brought only civil enforcement actions against companies that have allegedly...more
Over the past year, State Attorneys General have stepped into what they describe as a void of antitrust enforcement at the federal level. AGs have commenced investigations and brought antitrust actions across industry...more
Over the past couple of years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stepped up antitrust enforcement against companies for entering “no-poach” agreements. These “no-poach” or “no-hire” agreements are arrangements entered...more
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
On Thursday, March 7, the Antitrust Division intervened in three antitrust class actions to urge the court that no-poach agreements between vertically related firms, such as between franchisor and franchisee, should be...more
Q4 Update: Overview of Cartel Investigations - Although 2018 saw guilty pleas and new indictments in several ongoing Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, the year finished by continuing a downward trend in antitrust...more
Jimmy John’s will face antitrust claims, after an Illinois federal judge declined to dismiss allegations in a class action. Plaintiffs claim the chain’s franchise agreement harmed competition by preventing franchisee...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and two Dallas therapist staffing companies have settled charges that they conspired to fix the wages of contract therapists in violation of the federal antitrust laws. This is the FTC's...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced they are increasing their efforts to criminally prosecute employers and individuals who engage in certain behaviors...more