DOJ Focuses On Labor Antitrust In Raytheon’s Merger

A Justice Department probe into Raytheon Technologies’ allegedly anticompetitive hiring practices is a signal of more of the agency’s criminal enforcement in the labor market, attorneys said.

The move aligns with antitrust attorneys’ anticipation of the Biden administration’s increased focus on no-poaching agreements that limit hiring others’ workers. The DOJ indicated as early as 2016 that such practices could be subject to criminal enforcement. 

Raytheon Technologies, a Waltham, Mass.-based manufacturer of military and aerospace products, revealed in February that it received a grand jury subpoena as part of a DOJ criminal investigation into alleged agreements to limit hiring between its jet-engine unit and some suppliers. 

The probe also sought information about the Collins Aerospace avionics business, acquired through Raytheon’s merger with United Technologies, according to Bloomberg News. 

Federal antitrust regulators, including the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission, are focused on the “impact of a merger on labor markets,” said Andrew Lacy, co-chair of Goodwin Procter’s antitrust and competition practice. This underscores an “increasing focus on effects on workers from competition law violations.”

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