Antitrust Agencies' Scrutiny of Labor

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division have put labor issues at the center of antitrust enforcement and policy making. The agencies are closely examining companies’ hiring, recruitment, non-compete, and employee classification and compensation policies. They have recently amended the merger review process to require parties to provide granular information about their labor force to screen for potential impact on labor markets, and have signaled they may challenge a proposed merger if it impacts workers but not consumers. The FTC has also recently entered agreements to share investigative files, personnel, and other intelligence with both the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor, and may soon issue its first unfair competition rule that may ban non-compete provisions in employment contracts nationwide. This panel examined these developments and discussed how big of a role antitrust should play in labor matters.