Analysis Group Competition Experts Examine Global Labor Antitrust Enforcement Efforts
January 16, 2025
Motivated by concerns about the state of labor market competition, authorities around the globe are increasing their antitrust enforcement efforts in the labor market across a range of industries, including sports, food, media, retail, fashion, and agriculture.
In an article published by the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Antitrust Law Section, Analysis Group Managing Principal Jee-Yeon Lehmann, Vice President Federico Mantovanelli, and Managers Olivia Althans and Yeseul Hyun examine recent developments in labor market antitrust enforcement efforts and litigation activities in the United States, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, and China.
In the US, for example, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have maintained their focus on labor market competition despite setbacks in the DOJ’s criminal prosecution of alleged no-poach and wage-fixing agreements. These efforts include the FTC’s attempt to ban non-compete agreements nationwide, the agencies’ challenging mergers on the basis of causing harm to workers, and a 2024 agreement with the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to enhance information sharing protocols across the four agencies for merger reviews.
The authors report on key enforcement activities in other jurisdictions, including:
- Investigations in 2023 and 2024 by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority into recruiting and hiring practices of perfume suppliers and for freelance professionals for sports and other TV content production
- Actions in 2023 by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation requiring four hog-farming companies to revoke an agreement not to hire each other’s employees
- A May 2024 ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union that portions of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA’s) player transfer regulations – particularly financial compensation and sporting sanctions – violated EU competition law
- The 2022 update to the Canadian Competition Act criminalizing wage-fixing and no-poach agreements