Another Step Towards Increased Antitrust Enforcement In Labor Markets

Since the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals indicating that the agencies would criminally prosecute companies for illegal no-poach or wage-fixing agreements, the agencies have not been shy about their increased focus on labor market issues and greater scrutiny of wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. President Biden's Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy included initiatives aimed at promoting worker mobility, further confirming the administration's focus on competition in labor markets. For more information on the Executive Order's spotlight on labor, see here. Following the Executive Order, the FTC and DOJ held a workshop highlighting antitrust considerations in labor markets in December of last year, which we covered here.