Antitrust Regulators Eye Criminal Enforcement in No-Poach Deals

Federal antitrust regulators are invoking an Obama-era policy to ramp up criminal enforcement of illegal no-poach agreements in employers’ hiring practices.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have in the past pursued civil charges against employers that illegally strike deals to refrain from hiring the other’s employees. But in 2016, the agencies issued joint policy guidelines stating that criminal charges could be brought in cases where there is proof of an explicit no-poaching arrangement or wage fixing.

The five-year-old policy has largely been dormant, but it is being dusted off.

In the last six months, the DOJ has brought ...