On March 12, 2019, Dunkin’ Donuts, Arby’s, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and Little Caesars agreed to stop including “no-poach” clauses in their franchise agreements and no longer to enforce such clauses in existing agreements. A no-poach clause is an agreement between employers not to hire each other’s employees. The franchisors agreed to end this practice following an investigation by a coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the use of no-poach clauses in fast food franchise agreements.[1] In a press release announcing the settlement, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh explained his concern “that no-poach provisions make it…
Continue Reading No-Poach Clauses in Franchise Agreements: Four More Franchisors Agree to Drop Them and the DOJ Weighs In on Class Actions Alleging Antitrust Violations