Another Trial Loss Frustrates DOJ's Labor-Market Antitrust Enforcement

On April 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) labor-market enforcement efforts suffered a major loss when a Connecticut federal court ruled that no reasonable juror could convict six executives for violating antitrust laws. In United States v. Patel, the DOJ alleged that an executive orchestrated a no-poach agreement among five companies and their executives relating to the hiring of skilled engineers. But the judge granted the defendants' joint motion for acquittal at the close of the government's case, holding that the evidence did not establish the existence of an agreement to allocate the market for skilled engineers. The defeat is the latest and most significant setback in the Antitrust Division's efforts to prosecute alleged deals to harm competition in labor markets.