Antitrust and Federal Regulation Advisory: DOJ Continues to Target Employment Non-Solicitation Agreements
1/11/2011
By Bruce D. Sokler and Farrah Short
Companies and human resources (HR) departments should be aware that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has drawn a clean line in the sand over which antitrust laws can come into play, particularly where salaries are depressed because of “non-poaching” agreements between companies or industry “salary” surveys.
The DOJ closed out 2010 settling another action alleging anticompetitive employment practices between competing companies. In late December, the DOJ reached an agreement with Lucasfilm Ltd. (Lucasfilm) to settle its claim that Lucasfilm entered into an agreement with Pixar to restrain competition for highly skilled digital animators in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. If approved, the settlement would be in effect for five years and would prohibit Lucasfilm from entering into any agreements that restrict competition for employees.
