DOJ Defeats Motion To Dismiss In Precedent-Setting Criminal Wage-Fixing Case

On November 29, 2021, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Texas denied a motion to dismiss the government's first ever criminal indictment for alleged wage-fixing. The court rejected three primary arguments made by Neeraj Jindal, the owner of a therapist staffing company, and John Rodgers, the clinical director of the company. First, the court found that the indictment-which alleged a wage-fixing conspiracy-had adequately alleged a per se violation of the Sherman Act. Second, it determined that the defendants had "fair warning" that their alleged actions were illegal, so that their Constitutional rights were not violated by a prosecution. Finally, it determined that the per se standard does not unconstitutionally strip the jury of the ability to judge intent. The court's decision supports the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) recent efforts to identify and prosecute collusion in labor markets and will likely