{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-warren-nadler-correa-reintroduce-bicameral-bill-to-crack-down-on-collusive-no-poach-agreements", "Booker, Warren, Nadler, Correa Reintroduce Bicameral Bill to Crack Down on Collusive \"No Poach\" Agreements\"", "2023-07-26", "2023", "2023-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "NJ", "Cory A. Booker", "B001288", "www.booker.senate.gov", "booker", "https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Lou Correa (D-CA), reintroduced the bicameral End Employer Collusion Act, legislation that would crack down on collusive \"no-poach\" agreements that are often used by large franchisors to prohibit franchisees from hiring each other\u2019s workers.\n\nWhen two or more employers agree not to hire each other\u2019s current or former employees they engage in a no-poach agreement. Oftentimes employees are not even made aware of these agreements that deprive workers of competitive wages and benefits. Economists at Princeton University argue that no-poach agreements are chiefly intended to limit competition and turnover, suppressing wages. In 2022, the US Treasury Department published a study revealing that US workers are paid 20% less than they would be in a fully competitive market.\n\n\u201cBusinesses shouldn\u2019t be allowed to collude to suppress workers\u2019 wages,\u201d said Senator Booker. \u201cCorporations already employ a variety of anti-competitive practices and no-poach agreements, often kept hidden from employees, are particularly predatory and serve to keep wages down and limit job opportunities. It\u2019s time to ban these harmful agreements and protect the rights of all workers.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese illegal \u2018no-poaching\u2019 agreements give big corporations the power to limit workers\u2019 mobility, job opportunities, and wage growth,\u201d said Senator Warren. \u201cI\u2019m glad to join Senator Booker once again to introduce the End Employer Collusion Act to eliminate these anti-worker, anti-market clauses.\u201d\n\n\u201cOver the past several decades, waves of consolidation throughout the economy have imperiled the financial security of American workers. As a result, employers have immense power to restrict the wages and mobility of workers, and to justify anticompetitive mergers under the guise of corporate restructuring\u2014which we all know means layoffs and unemployment,\u201d said Representative Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. \u201cAlthough the Federal Trade Commission is considering efforts to end anticompetitive employment practices like non-compete agreements, more is still needed to help workers. I am proud to join Senators Booker and Warren in reintroducing the End Employer Collusion Act, which will ban agreements employers make with each other promising not to \u201cpoach\u201d each other\u2019s workers. These collusive, no-poach agreements drive down wages and prevent workers from moving to better job opportunities.\u201d\n\n\"No-poach agreements are unfair, unjust, and un-American,\" said Ranking Member Correa, the top Democrat on the House Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Subcommittee. \"These agreements deprive workers of competitive wages and benefits. I\u2019m joining my colleagues today in reintroducing the End Employer Collusion Act to ensure that big businesses aren't allowed to collude to suppress workers\u2019 wages.\"\n\n\u201cAn economy that doesn't allow workers to seek better pay and working conditions is not a fair economy,\" said Lee Hepner, Legal Counsel at American Economic Liberties Project. \"When employers agree not to hire each other's employees, they are effectively agreeing to rig wages at artificially low levels. One of the most direct actions Congress can take to empower workers and spur wage growth is to ban these anticompetitive no-poach agreements and other restrictions on worker mobility. This bill does exactly that.\"\n\nNo-poach agreements have recently been challenged in several courts on the grounds that they violate section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. No-poach agreements are common in the franchise industry and prevent employees from leaving one employer for another within the same franchise, impacting employees who seek additional hours or higher wages but are limited by employment opportunities.\n\nSpecifically, the End Employer Collusion Act would:\n\nBan \u201cno-poach\u201d agreements that are often used by large franchisors to prohibit franchisees from hiring each other\u2019s workers.\n\nProhibit any agreements between employers that directly restrict the current or future employment of any employees.\n\nPrevent companies from using, threatening, or enforcing these kinds of restrictive employment contracts.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:18:03Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-warren-nadler-correa-reintroduce-bicameral-bill-to-crack-down-on-collusive-no-poach-agreements"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8695870637893677, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}