No-Poach Agreements Will Remain a Target of Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
In October 2016, late in the Obama administration, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued guidance warning that no-poaching and wage-fixing agreements among competing employers
are per se illegal and would be prosecuted criminally. This guidance, officially the "Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals" (Guidance), marked a more aggressive stance on antitrust enforcement, where previous enforcement activity focused on civil liability and consent judgments.