In October 2022, this column looked behind the actions taken by courts and legislatures related to reigning in no-poach agreement provisions. We noted that "franchisors and franchisees seem likely to face potential antitrust liability for no-poach/no-hire agreements, and depending on the standard ultimately applied [per se or "Rule of Reason"], the liability could be substantial." See Christina Fahmy and Marc Lieberstein, "A Peek Behind Recent No Poach Antitrust Actions in Franchising", New York Law Journal, Oct. 25, 2022.

This past March, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a proposed class action challenging McDonald's use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements to move forward, and denied McDonald's petition to review a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that revived the case last summer.