Editor’s note: Katie Clarey is a regular freelancer with HR Dive. Her column, Back to Basics, began four years ago, when she started covering employment law. If you’re new to HR (or just need a little refresher), follow along as she speaks with legal experts, peruses federal guidance and lays out the basics of federal employment law. Feel free to send tips, questions and feedback to [email protected].

Imagine you’re a recruiter at a medtech company, and you’re desperate for engineering talent. You thought you’d set up a booth at a job fair hosted by your local university. You’re at the event, and you’ve talked up your organization to a few engineering majors, who seem keen on your apprenticeship program. That’s when, across the room, you see a recruiter from your company’s rival, and she’s handing out free Snickers.

You try to avoid eye contact with the rival recruiter, but you end up at the coffee station together during an afternoon lull. You confirm that, yes, you’re hurting for engineering talent. The rival says her company was losing engineers to a car parts manufacturer until the companies signed a no-poach agreement. Perhaps we could do something similar?

You pause. Wasn’t there something in your training about these kinds of pacts? You say you’re not sure — that kind of decision is probably above your pay grade. As the day winds down, you pack up your company swag and head for the parking lot, swiping a Snickers from the rival’s unmanned booth on the way out....

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