The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ), Department of Labor (DOL), and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance collaboration on investigating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets. This agreement will see the DOL and NLRB providing the FTC and DOJ with technical assistance, training, information, and data. A copy of the MOU is attached to this post. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The MOU provides that the DOL and NLRB will provide the DOJ and FTC with technical assistance, training, information, and data, to assist with their review of mergers and acquisitions. Key points are:
1️⃣ Training Initiatives: The DOL will train personnel from the FTC and DOJ on labor-related issues within their purview, while the NLRB will educate them on good faith bargaining, successor bargaining obligations, and unfair labor practices.
2️⃣ Biannual Meetings: The agencies will meet twice a year to discuss the implementation and coordination of their activities under the MOU.
3️⃣ Supplementary Agreement: This MOU complements, rather than replaces, existing agreements between these agencies. For instance, a previous MOU between the FTC and DOL from September 2023 focused on investigation coordination.
The collaboration is part of the Biden Administration’s “Whole of Government Approach” aimed at promoting competition in the American economy, as outlined in a 2021 Executive Order. This approach has led to increased inter-agency initiatives, particularly in the healthcare sector. The focus on labor markets, including the DOJ’s aggressive stance on no-poach and wage-fixing agreements and the FTC’s proposed ban on non-compete clauses, is not new but is further expanded by this MOU.
The enhanced cooperation and information sharing could result in more rigorous scrutiny of mergers, potentially slowing down reviews and leading to more civil and criminal antitrust investigations. Companies involved in mergers or dealing with the NLRB should be mindful of this increased inter-agency collaboration and the potential for their documents and information to trigger antitrust probes.
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