The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Labour (DOL), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen communication and coordination among the agencies to protect workers and promote competition in labour markets.
The MOU will build on existing agreements by outlining measures to help ensure that all relevant and appropriate information and expertise provided by the labour agencies, DOL and NLRB, can be used by the antitrust agencies, FTC and DOJ, in the review of mergers and acquisitions.
In addition the MOU sets out the following requirements:
- The DOL will train appropriate personnel from the antitrust agencies on the issues under their jurisdiction.
- The NLRB will train appropriate personnel from the antitrust agencies on the duty to bargain in good faith, successor bargaining obligations, and unfair labor practices, among other topics.
- The antitrust agencies and the labor agencies will endeavor to meet biannually to discuss implementation and coordination of the activities described in the MOU.
- The MOU makes clear that it supplements, and does not supersede, the previously identified bilateral agreements between the labor agencies and antitrust agencies.
By signing this new Memorandum, the antitrust agencies and the labour agencies commit to work together to ensure that the antitrust agencies have access to all relevant and appropriate information when assessing the potential impact of mergers and acquisitions between enterprises on labour markets.
(FTC, DOJ – August 28, 2024)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.