Burger King, Restaurant Brands Dodge Franchise No-Poach Claims

Burger King Corp., its franchising arm, and their parent company beat a challenge in Miami federal court to a “no poach” provision barring the fast food chain and its franchise stores from hiring one another’s workers.

The no-hire clauses are binding on Burger King’s 7,000-plus locations nationwide, including 50 in the Miami area operated by the company itself. Restaurant Brands International—the Canadian parent company of Burger King, Popeye’s, and Tim Horton’s—announced March 2 that it would eliminate the provisions.

The lawsuit characterized the clauses as “horizontal” restraint-of-trade agreements among competitors, rather than a “vertical” agreement between supply chain ...