McDonald’s Corp. dodged an ex-employee lawsuit challenging its franchise agreements’ no-poach provision, after an Illinois federal court ruled that the plaintiffs failed to show the fast-food giant had the power to restrain trade in worker hiring.
“Without market power, defendants could not suppress plaintiffs’ wages; another buyer would step in to pay plaintiffs more,” Judge Jorge L. Alonso of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said in a June 28 ruling.
The two former workers who sued also failed to show the market for fast food workers was restrained and narrow enough for the “no-hire” provision ...