The New Jersey Employment Law Firm Blog
Employees who have experienced unlawful practices in the workplace, such as wage and hour violations, misclassification, or discrimination, can turn to New Jersey employment laws. Some employment practices may violate antitrust laws at the federal and state levels. Antitrust laws prohibit actions that prevent or inhibit competition among businesses. The less businesses can compete, the more consumers will suffer without free market incentives to keep prices low. This can apply to employment, such as when employers collude to limit employees’ options for finding a new job. Several federal agencies entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) this fall. They agreed to cooperate and share information when investigating mergers that might violate antitrust law and harm employees.
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 addresses monopolies that restrain trade. This may include employment practices, such as when competing businesses agree to fix wages or refrain from hiring one another’s employees. This can deprive employees of opportunities to advance in their careers or demand better wages. If employers know their employees have no other prospects in their area, they have no incentive to raise wages or improve other working conditions.
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 deals with practices that Congress did not specifically address in the Sherman Act. This includes mergers that may harm consumers or employees. The law prohibits mergers that could create a monopoly in a particular market. Employees may suffer from an unlawful merger if it substantially reduces the number of employers in a market or geographic area.
Examples of employment practices that may violate federal antitrust law include the following:
– Anti-poaching agreements: When employers agree not to solicit or hire one another’s current or former employees, their employees are effectively trapped in their jobs unless they move to a new area or change careers.
– Wage-fixing agreements: Employers may not enter into agreements to keep wages or salaries at or below a certain level. This can have a similar effect as anti-poaching agreements. Employees would need to make major changes to their lives to seek better employment opportunities.
– Actions in preparation for anti-competitive agreements or practices: Federal antitrust law prohibits a variety of acts employers might take in preparation for agreements that impede or prevent competition among employers.
The MOU, which was announced in August 2024, involves allegedly unlawful mergers. It initially included four federal agencies. Two of them are designated as “labor agencies”: the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The DOL enforces federal laws dealing with wages and certain employment benefits. The NLRB enforces the federal statute that protects labor-organizing activities.
The other two agencies are the “antitrust agencies”: the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The DOJ enforces the Sherman and Clayton Acts, while the FTC enforces the Federal Trade Commission Act, another federal statute that deals with anti-competitive practices. The FTC announced its withdrawal from the MOU about a month after the initial announcement, although it stated that it will still “closely scrutinize all issues related to mergers…in accordance with its merger guidelines.”
Under the MOU, the DOJ may use data from the DOL and NLRB to assist its enforcement activities. It may also “seek technical assistance” from the labor agencies on employment-related matters.
The employment attorneys at the Resnick Law Group fight for the rights of employees in New Jersey and New York who have suffered damages because of unlawful workplace practices. To schedule a confidential consultation and learn how we can assist you, please contact us today at 973-781-1204, 646-867-7997, or online.