Antitrust In Labor Markets

In her first major speech since taking the helm of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater spotlighted a growing concern: the power imbalance in America's labor markets. Speaking in late April, Slater emphasized that antitrust laws are not solely designed to protect consumers from monopolistic practices, but are also a critical tool for protecting workers, promoting wage growth, and ensuring fair working conditions through competitive labor markets.

Despite being historically overshadowed by consumer-facing antitrust actions, labor markets have always been integral to antitrust protection. Workers, like consumers, are deeply affected by competition—or the lack thereof. When companies conspire to fix wages or agree not to hire one another's employees, workers are deprived of fair market opportunities. Antitrust law is fundamentally about maintaining competitive markets, including labor markets.