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Workshop Information
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission will jointly host a virtual public workshop on December 6-7, 2021, to discuss efforts to promote competitive labor markets and worker mobility. The workshop will bring together lawyers, economists, academics, policy experts, labor groups, and workers, and will cover recent developments at the intersection of antitrust and labor, as well as implications for efforts to protect and empower workers through competition enforcement and rulemaking.
A series of panels, presentations, and remarks will address competition issues affecting labor markets and the welfare of workers, including:
- Labor monopsony
- The increased use of restrictive contractual clauses in labor agreements, including noncompetes and nondisclosure agreements
- Information sharing and benchmarking activity among competing employers
- The role of other federal agencies in ensuring fair competition in labor markets
- The relationship between antitrust law and collective bargaining efforts in the “gig economy”
Panelists will be invited to discuss potential steps antitrust enforcers can take to better target enforcement resources, improve public guidance, and pursue a whole-of-government approach to ensuring fair competition for workers and consumers by leveraging interagency resources.
December 1, 2021
October 27, 2021
Press Release: Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission to Hold Workshop on Promoting Competition in Labor Markets
Date and Virtual Attendance
|
December 6–7, 2021 |
Registration is not required. The workshop will be free and open to the public and made available as a webcast. Instructions on accessing the webcast will be available in the near future. A recording of the workshop will be available on the Division’s website. |
Workshop Agenda
Monday, December 6, 2021 |
|
| 10:00–10:30 a.m. |
Welcome and Introduction Jonathan Kanter, Department of Justice Lina Khan, Federal Trade Commission |
| 10:30–11:30 a.m. |
Litigating Labor Monopsony: Mergers and Unilateral Conduct Participants Rachel Brass, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Eric Cramer, Berger Montague Michael Kades, Washington Center for Equitable Growth Jeffrey Kessler, Winston & Strawn LLP Fiona Scott Morton, Yale School of Management Moderator Doha Mekki, Department of Justice |
| 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. |
Break for Lunch |
| 1:00–2:00 p.m. |
Labor Perspective on Competition Issues Participants Lisa Frank, SEIU Healthcare, Pennsylvania Iain Gold, International Brotherhood of Teamsters John Marshall, United Food and Commercial Workers Marka Peterson, Strategic Organizing Center Shannon Wait, Communications Workers of America Moderator Miriam Larson-Koester, Federal Trade Commission |
| 2:00–2:10 p.m. |
Break |
| 2:10–2:15 p.m. |
Videos from the Public |
| 2:15–3:30 p.m. |
Contractual Restraints That Can Impede Worker Mobility Participants Richard Cassidy, Rich Cassidy Law Terri Gerstein, Harvard Labor and Worklife Program and Economic Policy Institute Marcia Goodman, Mayer Brown Evan Starr, University of Maryland Moderators Daniel Gilman, Federal Trade Commission Michael Lipsitz, Federal Trade Commission |
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 |
|
| 10:25–10:30 a.m. |
Welcome and Introduction |
| 10:30–11:30 a.m. |
Information Sharing Among Employers: Harms, Benchmarks & Lessons from Industry Participants Laura Alexander, American Antitrust Institute Peter Carstensen, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law Joe Harrington, Wharton School of Business Doug Melamed, Stanford University Nate Miller, Georgetown McDonough School of Business Moderators Ryan Danks, Department of Justice Elena Prager, Department of Justice |
| 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. |
Break for Lunch |
| 12:45–1:00 p.m. |
Keynote Tim Wu, Special Assistant to the President |
| 1:00–2:00 p.m. |
Building a “Whole-of-Government” Competition Policy Participants Sharon Block, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisors Ben Harris, Department of Treasury Raj Nayak, Department of Labor Heidi Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute Moderator Jack Mellyn, Department of Justice |
| 2:00–2:15 p.m. |
Break |
| 2:15–3:15 p.m. |
Fireside Chat: Worker Bargaining and the Antitrust Laws – 19th Century Through the Present Participants Herbert Hovenkamp, University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School Sanjukta Paul, Wayne State University Moderator Andrew Schupanitz, Department of Justice |
| 3:15–3:30 p.m. |
Break |
| 3:30–4:30 p.m. |
Collective Bargaining in the Gig Economy Participants Jennifer Abruzzo, National Labor Relations Board Gail Levine, Mayer Brown Marshall Steinbaum, University of Utah John Taladay, Baker Botts Sandeep Vaheesan, Open Markets Institute Moderator Eric Dunn, Department of Justice |
| 4:30 p.m. |
Closing Remarks Karina Lubell, Department of Justice |
Public Comment Submissions
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission invite comments from the public on the topics covered by this workshop. Interested parties may submit public comments online now through December 20, 2021, at Regulations.gov.
We are soliciting public comment videos on topics related to the workshop. If you would like to submit a video comment, please send it to ATR.LaborWorkshop@usdoj.gov. All videos should be 1 minute or less. Videos must be received by 5 p.m. ET, Friday, November 19, 2021.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Written submissions and the identity of the submitter may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed by publication and/or posting at Regulations.gov, at the discretion of the Department of Justice. Information that is submitted in connection with this event cannot be maintained as confidential by the Department of Justice. Written submissions should not include any information that the submitting person seeks to preserve as private or confidential.
Copyrighted Material: The Department of Justice will not post copyrighted material included in comments without permission from the copyright owner(s).