On October 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued antitrust guidance for human resources
professionals. The agencies also released a list of high-level red flags for the unwary.
The DOJ and FTC's guidance reminds HR professionals to avoid
entering into agreements concerning wages, employee benefits, or
terms of employment with their competitors. The guidance also
directs competing employers to steer clear of "no poach"
agreements except in limited circumstances, such as in connection
with the sale of a business.
Traditionally, these sorts of employment-related arrangements
have been a hotbed of antitrust enforcement activity, most notably
in the technology sector. Until now, the government
has challenged these arrangements through civil lawsuits that
simply broke up the unlawful arrangements and prevented them from
happening again. The DOJ and FTC's new guidance changes that.
"Going forward," the guidance warns,
