Empowering Workers: New Antitrust Guidelines from Justice Department and FTC Redefine Business Practices

Today, the Justice Department alongside the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Practices Influencing Workers. These guidelines, which replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, clarify how the Justice Department and FTC recognize and evaluate antitrust risks associated with business activities that impact workers.

“For over a century, the antitrust statutes have safeguarded workers from unlawful practices, exploitation of bargaining power, and limitations on their mobility,” stated Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will persist in collaborating with its federal and state associates to safeguard the economic liberty and opportunities of American workers and their families.”

The guidelines elaborate on examples and reference cases to illustrate how the agencies scrutinize business practices that might contravene antitrust laws, including information sharing, limitations on worker mobility, exploitation of bargaining power, as well as other restrictive, exclusionary, or predatory employment conditions. Additionally, the guidelines clarify that certain types of pacts among employers, such as wage-fixing or no-poach agreements, could expose companies and executives to criminal accountability under the antitrust statutes.

The agencies encourage the public to report any possible antitrust infringements, and the guidelines provide details on how to submit these reports.