Washington, DC - The Department of Justice will hold a public workshop on September 23, 2019, to discuss the role of antitrust enforcement in labor markets and promoting robust competition for the American worker.
The workshop will cover a variety of labor competition issues, including, among other topics: anticompetitive no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, approaches to labor market definition, the role of employer collaboration and contractual arrangements between employers on competition for workers, labor monopsony in merger enforcement, and antitrust exemptions for collective bargaining and other labor union activity. Panelists will discuss recent developments in the law, economic research, and policy proposals, as well as how to effectively develop cases challenging labor monopsony.
Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim will open the workshop, which will bring together economists, attorneys, labor representatives, and industry experts who examine competition in labor markets and who have experience litigating or studying labor antitrust cases. The Division intends to explore the practical considerations that antitrust enforcers and private litigants face in bringing cases that involve labor markets. The workshop will begin with an overview of the status of labor economics, followed by a series of panels examining (1) approaches to defining labor markets; (2) antitrust analysis of labor restraints arising out of competitor collaborations and contractual partnerships between employers; and (3) statutory and non-statutory antitrust exemptions for labor union activities.
The Department of Justice invites comments from the public on the topics covered by this workshop. Interested parties may submit public comments online now through October 23, 2019 at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The workshop is free and open to the public and will take place in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on September 23, 2019. A recording of the workshop will be available on the Division’s website. Registration information, an agenda, directions to the event, and a list of speakers will be available in the near future on the event web page. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to register in advance for the workshop at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Members of the press also should copy This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on their registration email. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees should bring a valid government-issued photo ID (government badge, license, passport, etc.) and arrive in time to go through security.