These are recent developments across the United States for no poach agreement antitrust enforcement, for January to March 2026.

Asset Management Firms Agree to $25.5 Million Settlement

After allegations that asset management firms had agreed to a nearly decade-long scheme to not hire each other’s employees, with the agreement allegedly running 2012-2020, defendants faced a class action of 4,000+ employees and agreed to a settlement of $25.5 million to resolve the allegations.

The civil class action followed an investigation by the Department of Justice, which caused one defendant to commit $1.5 million toward employees, a separate amount from the $25.5 million class settlement.

Pizza Chain Settles for $5 Million After No Poach Class Action Filed

A popular pizza chain agreed to pay $5,000,000 after allegations that it unlawfully restricted the movement of employees between chain restaurants through no-poach and no-hire clauses built into franchise agreements.  The settlement agreement covers half a million employees from 2014-2021, and includes mandatory antitrust compliance training and notifications to franchisees.

There has been a repeat history of allegations of no poach agreements among franchise chains, class action complaints filed over the same allegations, and eventual settlements.  Many chains have abandoned prior contracts and clauses containing no poach and no hire language to avoid further litigation.

FTC Finalizes No Hire Consent Order Regarding Adamas Amenity Services

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a consent order that requires building services contractor and its affiliated businesses to cease their enforcement of no-hire agreements. You can review the FTC notice here. The building services contractor operated in New Jersey and New York City, and it was alleged its contracts prevented building owners from hiring their workers without significant financial penalties. The consent order was issued on February 11, 2026. The order will remain in effect for ten years. This was the FTC’s third such enforcement action against building-service no-hire agreements.

California Enhances Cartwright Antitrust Penalties As of January 1st 2026

New California antitrust legislation increasing penalties under the Cartwright Act took effect on January 1, 2026. The Cartwright Act is the primary California state antitrust law prohibiting anti-competitive activity. It generally mirrors federal antitrust law under the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act. It’s codified in California Business & Professions Code sections 16700–16770. Enacted in 1907 as part of a wave of turn-of-the-century state and federal legislation intended to stem the power of monopolies and cartels, it was created in response to cartels openly operating in California industries like lumber, baking, and ice production.

The new laws are SB 763 and AB 325.  SB 763 increases civil and criminal penalties for those found in violation of the Cartwright Act, allowing fines to rise as high as $6 million in criminal proceedings, or double the gains to the company or losses to those affected, whichever is greater.  AB 325 lowers the standard by which plaintiffs need to prove their case during initial allegations and pleading, and adds new limitations on the use of shared data and common pricing algorithms. California is cracking down on the use of shared data to form pricing recommendations among competitors.

Antitrust Law Firm

Schedule an appointment with our legal team to learn more about filing an antitrust class action lawsuit. Our national trial firm maintains offices in California, Illinois, Texas and Washington, D.C. We represent both businesses and consumers who have suffered damages due to anticompetitive conduct, whether from exclusive contracts, predatory pricing, no hire or no poach agreements on employees, or price fixing.