7th Cir. Revives Ex-McDonald’s Workers’ No-Poach Antitrust Suit

The Seventh Circuit on Friday revived a lawsuit over McDonald’s Corp. contracts that barred franchisees from pursuing or hiring current McDonald’s employees without a letter of release or within six months after their employment ended.

The workers’ lawsuit sufficiently alleged an antitrust claim, Judge Frank Easterbrook said for the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Easterbrook remanded the case to the trial court to consider a series of inquiries, including whether the no-poach clause protected the franchises’ investments in training or allowed them to appropriate the value of workers’ own investments, its national scope, and the time restriction. ...