Kroger-Albertsons FTC Suit Puts Labor Antitrust Loophole in Play

A narrow labor exemption to federal antitrust laws faces renewed scrutiny as a federal judge in Oregon considers the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block Kroger Co.'s acquisition of Albertsons Cos.

The FTC and a group of states have asked the court to halt the proposed $24.6 billion deal because it would, in part, hurt competition among unionized workers—a novel claim that has spurred the two largest unionized US grocery chains to raise their own untested, labor-based defense.

Last month, Kroger argued the FTC’s case is “legally defective” because the acquisition falls within an implicit exemption to antitrust law that ...