Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general filing an amicus brief challenging “no-poach” provisions — which restrict the rights of workers to move from one franchise to another in the same restaurant chain — used by McDonald’s in its franchise agreements.
The workers in this case contend that, until 2017, McDonald’s required all McDonald’s franchisees to sign agreements that contained a provision prohibiting them from hiring workers who worked for any McDonald’s restaurant currently or in the prior six months. Raoul and the collation argue that such agreements violate federal antitrust laws and interfere with workers’ ability to seek better employment opportunities, wages and benefits.
“No-poach agreements allow employers to take advantage of workers by trapping them in low-paying jobs and limiting their ability to seek better employment opportunities,” Raoul said. “I am committed to holding companies accountable when they engage in unlawful employment practices that prevent employees from seeking opportunities that allow them to better support themselves and provide for their families.”
Raoul and the coalition are asking an appeals court to reject a series of opinions siding with McDonald’s and against the workers. The brief notes that, in recent years, state attorneys general across the United States have focused on antitrust violations in labor markets and that enforcement actions against companies that use such agreements have led to higher wages for workers. The attorneys general argue that the lower court’s ruling in this case would sharply limit their ability to combat no-poach agreements.
The brief builds on Attorney General Raoul’s efforts to advocate for workers and fight unlawful employment practices. In June, Attorney Raoul filed a lawsuit against several staffing agencies and their mutual client over allegations that they interfered with temporary workers’ ability to seek better employment opportunities with other staffing agencies. In July 2020, Raoul filed a similar lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleging that three staffing agencies and their client conspired to eliminate competition and harm temporary workers in Illinois by interfering with their ability to seek better employment opportunities and better wages and benefits. In June, the Attorney General won an initial victory in that case when the Illinois Appellate Court agreed that the temporary staffing industry could not use a loophole to avoid state antitrust protections. The ruling has implications for temporary staffing agencies throughout the state, which will now face greater potential for antitrust enforcement actions under Illinois law.
Attorney General Raoul encourages workers who believe their rights have been violated to call his Workplace Rights Hotline at 1-844-740-5076, or file a complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website.
Original source can be found here.