FTC Withdraws from Labor Pact to Enforce Merger Antitrust Laws

The Federal Trade Commission is withdrawing from an agreement among a group of federal agencies to coordinate labor issues as part of a merger and acquisition review.

In a statement late Friday, the agency said it would withdraw from a memorandum of understanding it reached in August with the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor and the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

The pact calls on the agencies to work together to obtain information from various interested parties and to provide access to the DOL and NLRB during antitrust assessments of mergers.

The FTC did not provide a reason for the move. The agency “will continue to carefully review all merger-related matters, including potential labor impacts, in accordance with its merger guidance,” it said in a statement.

The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Under Lina Khan’s leadership, the FTC has pushed to expand antitrust regulation beyond prices and efficiency to areas such as labor markets. The commission questioned multiple mergers on the theory that they would harm workers in addition to consumers.

The jobs pact, announced on Aug. 28, also stipulated that the agencies would meet twice a year to discuss coordination and conduct interagency training on labor and antitrust law.