Federal and state laws regarding antitrust concerns and whistleblowing have evolved in recent years, so it's important for HR professionals to stay up-to-date on legal compliance.
"Keep yourself safe," Christine Walters, an HR and employment law consultant with FiveL Company in Westminster, Md., told attendees at a concurrent session at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2023 in Las Vegas on June 12.
Antitrust laws exist to ensure fair competition among businesses and to protect employees and consumers. "Competition is good. Labor market competition should happen," Walters said. "Lack of competition can hurt employees if I can't go out and make more money."
The federal Sherman Antitrust Act outlaws unreasonable restraints on trade, such as wage fixing, price fixing, bid rigging and monopolies. It carries criminal penalties of up to $100 million for a corporation and $1 million for an individual, along with up to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released guidance for HR professionals in 2016 that mentions no-poach agreements—in which companies agree not to recruit one another's employees—nine times. "That tells me it's on their radar," Walters said, because no-poach agreements stymie competition for labor. "You're limiting those employees' ability to make a better living."
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