Burger King Loses Bid to Toss Ex-Employees’ No-Poach Lawsuit

Burger King Corp. failed again to shed an antitrust suit alleging the fast food chain violated the Sherman Act through its no-poach agreements by barring employees from being recruited by other franchise locations.

The former workers plausibly pleaded that Burger King’s “no-hire agreement” is unreasonable, but the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida declined Wednesday to rule on what standard of review to use under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. “More factual development is necessary,” Judge Jose E. Martinez said.

The case was revived after an August 2022 ruling from the US Court of Appeals for ...