Mixed Bag Result in Texas Case Could Bolster DOJ’s Continued Prosecution of Wage-Fixing and No-Poach Agreements
On April 14, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas handed the U.S. Department of Justice its first loss in prosecuting an alleged wage-fixing crime and the first verdict ever in a criminal prosecution of wage-fixing under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
The DOJ alleged that Mr. Neeraj Jindal and Mr. John Rodgers violated the Sherman Act by agreeing to lower pay rates to physical therapists and physical therapists assistants, classifying this behavior as a per se violation of antitrust laws. Additional charges included conspiring to commit a crime and obstructing the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation related to the alleged wage-fixing. While the DOJ did not secure a conviction for wage-fixing against either defendant, it secured a favorable pre-trial decision that could embolden continued prosecution of wage-fixing cases.
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