Tuesday, January 26, 2021
More than four years after first announcing its intent to criminally prosecute employers and individuals who enter into naked wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements with other employers,
1 the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) recently brought its first-ever criminal charges in two different cases for alleged anticompetitive conduct in labor markets. With these two criminal actions, it is clear that DOJ’s public promises to prosecute anticompetitive conduct affecting U.S. labor markets were not just empty threats. Such charges highlight the criminal risks now associated with agreements between labor market competitors related to hiring, wages, and other terms of employment. Below we: