Wage-Fixing, Nonpoaching Agreements Between Companies Are Illegal

Phillip Warren is quoted in a Society for Human Resource Management article regarding guidance released by the DOJ and the FTC alerting HR professionals to potential violations of antitrust laws stemming from nonpoaching or wage-fixing agreements with competing companies. According to Warren, “This is a major policy shift.” He continues, “The government has filed civil antitrust cases involving hiring and compensation, but it has never filed a criminal case in this area. This change makes it important for companies to promptly audit their human resources policies and practices to identify any potentially illegal conduct and to take quick action.”