DOJ, FTC Cite Tech Firms' 'No Poach' Agreements in Employment Antitrust Guidance

DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the FTC referenced several recent federal cases against tech firms for entering into “no poach” agreements with competitors, in guidance sent Thursday to human resource professionals aimed at protecting workers against anticompetitive conduct. The advice is meant to educate HR professionals and others on how antitrust laws apply to businesses’ employment practices, the antitrust agencies said. “HR professionals need to understand that these violations can lead to severe consequences, including criminal prosecution,” said DOJ Antitrust head Renata Hesse in a news release: The "guidance provides HR professionals with information to prevent violations and report potentially unlawful activity, furthering the Justice Department’s commitment to protect workers from harmful conduct that stifles competition.” The agencies cited three tech sector-centric cases, saying agreements among employers not to recruit certain employees or not to compete on terms of compensation are illegal. They include a 2010 case against Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit and Pixar, a 2011 case against Lucasfilm and a 2014 case against eBay and Intuit. “In all three cases, the competitors agreed not to cold call each other’s employees,” DOJ and the FTC said: “In two cases, at least one company also agreed to limit its hiring of employees who currently worked at a competitor. All three cases ended in consent judgments” against the tech companies.