Assistant Attorney General Announces that DOJ Antitrust Division is Building Criminal Cases Against Companies for Anti-Poaching Agreements

U.S. Antitrust, Competition & Trade Regulation Alert

The Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that the DOJ is currently developing criminal cases against companies who form agreements not to hire each other’s employees. [1]

This announcement signals the DOJ’s first possible criminal action following the policy shift that the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the “Agencies”) announced last year through the issuance of their Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals. [2] The Antitrust Guidance expressed the DOJ’s intent to criminally prosecute employers and individuals who enter into naked wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements with other employers. [3] While such conduct has always carried potential criminal liability (both for corporations and individuals) under the antitrust laws, the Agencies typically dealt with such violations through civil proceedings that ended in civil settlements requiring the companies to cease engaging in such prohibited conduct.

To read the full alert, click here.