The Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department's comment period on their proposed merger guidelines ended this week, with the agencies receiving nearly 1,600 comments from the health care industry, agriculture groups, legislators and others.

In July, the agencies published their proposed guidelines to ensure mergers and acquisitions do not harm competition in the market or displace workers. The proposals call for the agencies to review serial mergers, or roll-ups, and consider the acquisitions' effect on labor.