The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has targeted collusion in labor markets for criminal prosecution. This was not unexpected. Indeed, the Antitrust Division gave plenty of warning to the high-tech industry and other companies that criminal prosecutions were on the horizon.

DOJ handled initial prosecutions of labor market collusion in the high-tech sector by civil prosecutions and resolutions. Out of an abundance of caution, DOJ recognized that it wanted to provide “fair warning” of its intention. While it may not have been clear that the Sherman Act prohibition on cartel activity applied to labor markets, DOJ and the private sector should have realized that collusion, wage-fixing and agreements not to compete were illegal collusion agreements. It is hard (if not impossible) to identify procompetitive justifications for such blatant anti-competitive conduct. 

In this Episode, Michael Volkov outlines antitrust risks and compliance strategies to avoid DOJ enforcement actions in the labor market.