Originally published in Build Houston magazine.
In October 2016, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance identifying poaching agreements and wage-fixing agreements as primary antitrust enforcement targets. In April 2018, DOJ brought the Department’s first enforcement case over illegal anti-competitive employment related agreements.
In a market where skilled labor is in increasingly high demand, and the price of labor continues to rise, scrutiny of employment-related agreements is also on the rise. Industries facing skilled labor shortages are natural targets of DOJ scrutiny, the construction industry is no exception.