Antitrust laws don’t just regulate big corporations—they play a critical role in protecting workers from antitrust violations.

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) enforce these laws to ensure fair competition in labor markets. Understanding your rights is essential to recognizing illegal employer practices and taking action.

These laws safeguard competition for labor, just as they protect competition for goods and services. They ensure that workers have the freedom to pursue the best opportunities for themselves and their families.

Revised Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers

The DOJ and FTC have issued updated “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers” to combat exploitative business practices that harm workers. The revised guidelines outline how authorities assess violations of laws such as the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, and Federal Trade Commission Act.

Key Areas of Focus Include:

Wage-Fixing Agreements: Employers colluding to set wages at artificially low levels.

No-Poach Agreements: Agreements between companies not to recruit, solicit, or hire workers, or to fix wages or terms of employment, may violate the antitrust laws and may expose companies and executives to criminal liability.

Franchise No-Poach Agreements: Agreements in the franchise context not to poach, hire, or solicit employees of the franchisor or franchisees may violate the antitrust laws.

Non-Compete Clauses: Restrictions preventing employees from leaving for better opportunities. Non-compete clauses can play a significant role in antitrust considerations, because they restrict workers’ ability to pursue better employment opportunities or start a competing business; they also decrease competition for workers.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDAs”): Overbroad NDAs that unfairly limit job mobility, accepting other employment, or starting a business. NDAs can be anticompetitive if they:

• Cover an excessively wide range of information, such as any information “usable in” or “related to” an industry, thereby restricting a worker’s ability to use their skills and knowledge in future employment and, moreover, limiting their job mobility and competition in the labor market. ​
• Are worded in a way that suggests workers could face lawsuits or adverse employment consequences for reporting potential violations of law to state or federal authorities, or for cooperating with government investigations.​ This can prevent workers from reporting illegal activities, thereby undermining regulatory enforcement and competition.

Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (“TRAPs”): Requiring workers to repay excessive training costs, which can be anticompetitive if they function to prevent workers from moving to other jobs or starting their own business.

Non-Solicitation Agreements: Restrictions preventing former employees from soliciting former clients or customers can be anticompetitive, if they are so broad that they function to prevent a worker from seeking or accepting another job or starting a business.

Exit Fees and Liquidated Damages: Provisions requiring workers to pay a financial penalty for leaving their employer can be anticompetitive, such as if they prevent workers from working for another firm or starting a business.

Sharing Competitively Sensitive Information: Employers exchanging wage and employment terms with competitors to suppress wages.

Why Protecting Workers from Antitrust Violations Matters 

When employers collude to restrict competition in the labor market, workers suffer. These illegal practices lead to:

• Lower wages
• Fewer job opportunities
• Reduced bargaining power
• Worsened working conditions

Take Action and Protect Yourself From Antitrust Violations – Know Your Rights 

The antitrust laws prohibit harmful, anticompetitive practices to promote fair competition and better job opportunities.

If you believe your employer has been engaging in unlawful wage-fixing, no-poach agreements or other prohibited conduct, send us a message or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], for a free, no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims. 

About Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a nationally recognized, plaintiff-side class action firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have served as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in cases recovering over $10 billion on behalf of institutional and individual investors and consumers.

Through class action litigation, we hold corporations accountable for securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair or inadequate mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust violations. We also represent whistleblowers and prosecute data breach, consumer protection, and employment law violations, as well as cases involving retirement plan mismanagement and deceptive business practices. With a results-driven approach, we pursue impactful litigation to achieve meaningful results and recoveries for those we represent.

Our class action legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning clients are not responsible for any fees or litigation expenses. 

PHONE

Tel: 215-792-6676

EMAIL

[email protected]

A 401(k) retirement plan is one of the most important financial benefits for employees, helping to secure long-term financial stability. However, breaches of fiduciary duty, such as mismanagement and corporate misconduct, can threaten your hard-earned savings.

Understanding your rights under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) is essential to protecting your 401(k) retirement plan funds and holding plan fiduciaries accountable.

ERISA Protections and Your 401(k)

ERISA provides essential protections for 401(k) retirement plan participants, including:

• Right to Information – You are entitled to key plan documents, such as the Summary Plan Description (“SPD”), annual reports, and account statements.
• Fiduciary Duties – Plan administrators must act solely in the best interest of participants, avoiding conflicts of interest.
• Protection from Mismanagement – Employers and fiduciaries must manage investments responsibly, control fees, and ensure transparency.
• Right to Legal Recourse – If fiduciary duties are breached, participants may have the right to seek legal action to recover financial losses.

What Is a Fiduciary Breach?

Fiduciary breaches occur when plan administrators fail to act in the best interest of participants or engage in misconduct, such as:

• Excessive Fees – Charging unreasonably high fees, reducing retirement savings over time.
• Poor Investment Management – Offering high-risk, underperforming, or conflicted investment options.
• Failure to Monitor the Plan – Neglecting oversight of third-party administrators or failing to correct mismanagement.
• Delayed Contributions – Employers failing to deposit employee contributions on time, which may impact investment growth.

Steps to Take if You Suspect Fiduciary Breaches or Mismanagement

If you believe your 401(k) retirement plan is being mismanaged, consider taking these steps to protect your rights:

1. Review Plan Documents – Check your SPD, account statements, and fee disclosures for inconsistencies.
2. Report to the Plan Administrator – Raise concerns with your employer or plan fiduciary.
3. File a Complaint – Report violations to the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
4. Seek Legal Assistance – If you have suffered financial losses, you may have a legal claim.

How Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. Can Help

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is dedicated to protecting employees from 401(k) retirement plan fiduciary mismanagement. If you suspect a breach of fiduciary duties, our experienced attorneys can evaluate your case. Don’t let fiduciary mismanagement put your retirement savings at risk.

For a free, no-obligation legal consultation, send us a message or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected]. 

About Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a nationally recognized, plaintiff-side class action firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have served as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in cases recovering over $10 billion on behalf of institutional and individual investors and consumers.

Through class action litigation, we hold corporations accountable for securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair or inadequate mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust violations. We also represent whistleblowers and prosecute data breach, consumer protection, and employment law violations, as well as cases involving retirement plan mismanagement and deceptive business practices. With a results-driven approach, we pursue impactful litigation to achieve meaningful results and recoveries for those we represent.

Our class action legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning clients are not responsible for any fees or litigation expenses. 

PHONE

Tel: 215-792-6676

EMAIL

[email protected]

Computer employees should be aware that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

The FLSA, however, provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers, and other similarly skilled workers in the computer field who meet certain tests regarding their job duties and who are paid at least the standard salary level on a salary basis, or paid on an hourly basis at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour.

It is important to note that job titles do not determine exemption status. For the employer to claim this exemption, an employee’s specific job duties and compensation must meet all the requirements of the Department of Labor’s regulations.

Requirements to Qualify for the Computer Employee Exemption

To qualify for the computer employee exemption, the employer must ensure all the following requirements are met:

• The employee must be compensated either on a salary or fee basis at a rate not less than the standard salary level required by 29 CFR 541.600 or, if compensated on an hourly basis, at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour;
• The employee must be employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer or other similarly skilled worker in the computer field performing the following primary duties:*

• • • The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
    • The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
    • The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or
    • A combination of these duties, the performance of which requires the same level of skill.

Computer Employee Exemption: What’s Not Included

The computer employee exemption does not include employees engaged in the manufacture or repair of computer hardware and related equipment.

Employees whose work is highly dependent upon, or facilitated by, the use of computers and computer software programs (e.g., engineers, drafters and others skilled in computer-aided design software), but who are not primarily engaged in computer systems analysis and programming or other similarly skilled computer-related occupations identified in the primary duties test described above, are also not exempt under the computer employee exemption.

*Primary duty means the principal, main, major or most important duty that the employee performs. Determination of an employee’s primary duty must be based on all the facts in a particular case, with the major emphasis on the whole character of the employee’s job.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet 17E.

Have You Been Wrongfully Denied Overtime as a Computer Employee?

If you believe you have been wrongfully denied overtime by your employer, Kehoe Law Firm is here to help. Our experienced attorneys are dedicated to protecting workers’ rights. For a free, no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims, send us a message or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected]. 

No-Cost Legal Assistance

Our class action legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning clients are not responsible for any fees or litigation expenses. 

PHONE

Tel: 215-792-6676

EMAIL

[email protected]

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA, however, provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees.

Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees.

To qualify for exemption, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

Nurses and the Learned Professional Exemption

To qualify for the learned professional employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

• The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684 per week;
• The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment;
• The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and
• The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Registered nurses who are paid on an hourly basis should receive overtime pay. However, registered nurses who are registered by the appropriate State examining board generally meet the duties requirements for the learned professional exemption and, if paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, may be classified as exempt.

Licensed practical nurses and other similar health care employees, however, generally do not qualify as exempt learned professionals, regardless of work experience and training, because possession of a specialized advanced academic degree is not a standard prerequisite for entry into such occupations, and are entitled to overtime pay.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet 17N.

Do You Believe Your Employer Has Wrongfully Denied You Overtime Pay?

If so, Kehoe Law Firm is here to help. Our experienced attorneys are dedicated to protecting workers’ rights. For a free, no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims, send us a message or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected]. 

No-Cost Legal Assistance

Our class action legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning clients are not responsible for any fees or litigation expenses. 

PHONE

Tel: 215-792-6676

EMAIL

[email protected]