Summary
Antipoaching (or no-poach agreement) is an anti-competitive conduct where companies conspire not to hire each other's employees.[1]
Antipoaching agreements, or no-poach agreements, are related to non-compete clauses, but distinct -- no-poach agreements are among employers, non-compete clauses are between employer and company. In the United States, antipoaching agreements have been widespread among franchise businesses: Research has found that 58 percent of major franchisors' contracts in 2016, including those of McDonald's, Burger King, Jiffy Lube, and H&R Block, contained agreements not to hire the workers of other franchisees.[2] Some franchisors have since stated that they would drop those agreements.[3]
Antipoaching agreements may be illegal under U.S. antitrust law in some circumstances.[4] Allegations about such agreements among major high-tech companies, including Apple and Google, were the basis of the High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Apple, Google, others settle antipoaching lawsuit for $415 million - CNET, September 3, 2015, Lance Whitney, cNet.com, retrieved at 2 March 2017
- ^ Alan B. Krueger and Orley Ashenfelter, "Theory and Evidence on Employer Collusion in the Franchise Sector" (2018).
- ^ Jeff Stein, "7 fast food chains agree to drop ‘no-poaching’ clauses," The Washington Post, July 12, 2018.
- ^ Antitrust Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice, "No-poach approach," Spring 2019.