News

June 21, 2022

Federal Agencies Partner to Target Employers’ Anti-Trust Violations

On June 21st, it was reported that three drivers filed a lawsuit alleging Uber and Lyft violated state anti-trust laws by colluding to fix wages they pay drivers, who are independent contractors. The lawsuit seeks class action status.

In a letter dated April 27th, 12 trade, industry, professional and other groups and associations sent a letter to members of Congress expressing concerns about four anti-trust bills.

On March 10th, the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Justice announced a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “to protect workers from employer collusion, ensure compliance with the labor laws and promote competitive labor markets and worker mobility.”  This includes the inappropriate use of non-compete agreements, among other employment practices.

The announcement followed the Department of Treasury releasing a report March 7th highlighting how lack of competition affects workers’ wages and opportunities. The MOU is a further step for the departments in addressing some of the challenges highlighted in the report.

You get the idea: employment practices that may restrict competition are under scrutiny.  The concerns include a variety of employment agreements, including  non-competes, no solicitation, non-disclosure, B-2-B no-poaching, and more.

If you use or are thinking about using any of these, you may want to join this month’s webcast, “Employment Agreements: What are You Really Trying to Protect (and Can You)?”