Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
The New Jersey legislature is taking another crack at imposing significant limitations on noncompete agreements. Its first effort in this regard, a 2022 Assembly Bill which proposed mandatory notice periods, the statutory...more
On 2 June 2025, the European Commission (the Commission) fined Delivery Hero and its Spanish subsidiary Glovo a combined €329 million for operating a cartel in the online food delivery sector....more
Last month, Judge Jose E. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied the Burger King Defendants’ (“Burger King”) motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging that its “No-Hire”...more
On February 13, 2025, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from summary judgment in Latifi v. The TDL Group Corp., confirming that a claim for conspiracy to injure will fail where the predominant purpose of an...more
Four days before President Trump took office, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) (together, “the Agencies”) under the Biden administration released their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business...more
On December 4, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ordered building services contractor Guardian Industries, Inc. (“Guardian”) to cease enforcement of no-hire provisions it included in customer service agreements with...more
In a divided party-line vote, the FTC recently charged Guardian Service Industries, Inc. (Guardian), a New York City-area building services contractor, with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the Federal...more
President-elect Donald Trump recently announced that Republican Commissioner Andrew Ferguson will chair the Federal Trade Commission during Mr. Trump’s second administration. Commissioner Ferguson is also a known critic of...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in a 3-2 party-line vote last week, ordered a New York City area building services contractor, Guardian Service Industries, Inc. (Guardian), to rescind all "no-hire" agreements, including...more
The Belgian Competition Authority recently rendered a decision imposing significant fines totaling EUR 47 million on competitors guilty of a variety of anti-competitive agreements, including ‘no-hire’ clauses....more
As we previously reported, California recently enacted AB 1076, which reinforces the state’s broad statutory ban on noncompete agreements. The law took effect on January 1, 2024, and expressly codifies Edwards v. Arthur...more
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
Many employers require employees to sign restrictive covenants prohibiting them from engaging in certain activities after their employment ends. These prohibitions frequently include - opening or working for a competing...more
In Louisiana, restrictive covenants—known locally as “no competes”—are unenforceable by statutory default. The applicable statute declares, “Every contract or agreement, or provision thereof, by which anyone is restrained...more
Partner Jay Bogan recently discussed the Eleventh Circuit Reinstating No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King....more
A federal appellate court held that Burger King and its franchisees may violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act (antitrust) by engaging in concerted action when entering into “no-hire” agreements. The appellate court reversed...more
Over the last several years, business-to-business “no-hire” and “no-poach” agreements have come under legal attack, including through enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission and criminal prosecutions by the...more
Takeaway: Restrictive covenants have generated a lot of controversy lately, especially with the Department of Justice’s continued focus on illegal no-poach hiring agreements between Silicon Valley companies and other firms. ...more
As previously addressed on this blog, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed into law the state’s fiscal year 2023 budget (HB5506) (Act). Among other things, the Act prohibits homemaker-companion or home health...more
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has stepped up enforcement over no-poach/no-hire agreements under Federal antitrust laws. The DOJ recently tried two criminal cases against individual officers of...more
In a landmark case of first impression, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division (Division) indicted and brought to trial a federal criminal prosecution alleging agreements between DaVita, Inc., its former CEO...more
A suite of bills aimed at further enhancing protections for both employees and independent contractors regarding discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace are on the horizon in New York State. Several of...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is continuing its crackdown on alleged “no poach” or “wage fixing” market collusion between competitors. Last week, DOJ announced charges against four individuals operating home health...more
When the Department of Justice warns businesses and individuals, everyone needs to listen and respond accordingly. Starting in 2016, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division warned businesses that the Antitrust Division...more
For many federal government contractors, their skilled and experienced workforce may be their most valuable asset. A recent “ice breaker” settlement of a class action lawsuit, however, demonstrates the wrong way to protect...more