Does Your Corporate Antitrust Compliance Program Need to be Amended?

On April 30, 2004, the United States Sentencing Commission formally presented amendments to the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines (the "Guidelines") that are used to direct judges in determining penalties for corporate criminal law violations, including criminal antitrust offenses. The amendments include significant changes to the federal sentencing Guidelines for organizations, which include corporations, partnerships, associations, joint stock companies, unions, trusts, pension funds, unincorporated organizations, governments, and non-profit entities. If the amendments to the Guidelines become effective, organizations including companies and trade associations, will be required to re-assess the sufficiency of their antitrust and other compliance programs. As the amendments relate to corporate antitrust policies, organizations will be expected to provide more oversight and involvement by key decision-makers in creating and maintaining the programs that help employees identify and