Burger King Loses Antitrust Appeal Over Franchise No-Poach Pact

Burger King Corp. affiliates must face antitrust litigation over a former “no hire” pact that barred the fast food giant and its franchise locations from recruiting one another’s workers, a federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled Wednesday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit revived the case, a proposed class action on behalf of former employees. But the court based its decision on relatively narrow grounds, declining to issue a groundbreaking ruling on the proper framework for no-poach cases involving franchise chains.

Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum, writing for the appeals court, said a district court judge was wrong ...