Antitrust Agencies Issue Guidance To HR Professionals Regarding Hiring And Compensation Decisions

The U.S. Antitrust Agencies (the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission) recently issued a document entitled "Antitrust Guidance For Human Resource Professionals" intended to alert HR professionals to potential antitrust violations involving hiring and compensation decisions.

The Guidance states that firms that compete to hire or retain employees are competitors in the "employment marketplace," regardless of whether they make the same products or compete to provide the same services.  It advises that it is unlawful for competitors to expressly or implicitly agree not to compete and notes that the Antitrust Agencies have taken enforcement actions against employers that have agreed not to compete for employees.  To underscore this, the Guidance briefly discusses the enforcement actions that the Antitrust Agencies have taken against entities for agreeing not to compete for employees or agreeing to uniform compensation terms,