The Department of Labor and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division signed a memorandum of understanding, strengthening the partnership between the two agencies in order to help them better protect U.S. workers, according to a March 10 news release.
The release reports the partnership aims to support and enact the objectives of President Joe Biden's executive order on promoting competition in the American economy. The agencies reportedly wish to combat employer collusion, ensure labor law compliance and promote competitive markets and upward mobility for workers.
"Anticompetitive practices harm both workers and high-road employers," said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. "The Department of Labor looks forward to collaborating with the Antitrust Division to ensure there is a level playing field in the labor market and that workers receive their fair pay. Through this partnership, we will work together to tackle unlawful behavior that we are seeing across industries – including misclassification and wage fixing. This is an important moment in recognizing that protecting competition protects workers. Working with the Department of Justice to root out these unscrupulous practices will help us empower workers and improve job quality."
Both agencies aim to protect workers from anticompetitive and unlawful conduct, the release states. The announcement follows a March 7 Department of Treasury report detailing how anticompetitive practices negatively impact wages.
"Protecting competition in labor markets is fundamental to the ability of workers to earn just rewards for their work, to live out the American dream and to provide for their families," said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
