State Attorneys General Step Up Antitrust Probes of Franchise Industry Hiring Practices

In the midst of a federal effort to ramp up antitrust prosecutions of companies agreeing not to recruit or hire each other’s employees (see previous articles dated November 9, 2016, January 25, 2018, April 25, 2018 and July 17, 2018), special scrutiny – and criticism – has been directed toward the use of no-poach agreements in the franchise industry. State Attorneys General now lead the fight to limit the practice, and early indications suggest that their efforts are already producing results.