U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division Uses Wiretaps To Detect And Prosecute Procurement Collusion

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) has struck again, this time with the help of a Title III wiretap.

On May 8, 2024, the Antitrust Division announced a guilty plea in the case of a contractor who provided fuel truck services to the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire fighters.1 The contractor was indicted in December 2023 for rigging bids and allocating markets for fuel truck contracts.2

In a superseding information, a charge of […]

By | May 20th, 2024 ||

Sutter Health Prevails in Antitrust Trial Arising from Its Contracting Practices

On March 11, a California federal jury delivered a verdict in favor of Sutter Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems, in a $411 million class-action lawsuit alleging Sutter’s contracts with insurers unlawfully inflated insurance premiums. The verdict, which likely marks the end of a decade of antitrust litigation against Sutter, offers important lessons for healthcare providers who engage in similar contracting practices.
The Challenged Contracting Practices
First filed in 2012, the complaint against Sutter […]

By | April 5th, 2023 ||

Limiting Antitrust Exposure in the Employment Setting

In what has commonly been referred to as the “Great Resignation,” nearly 50 million people voluntarily resigned from their jobs in 2021.[1] The majority of those resigning sought a higher paying or better opportunity with another employer.[2] Well before the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, millennials – the largest generation in the workforce[3] – garnered a reputation for job-hopping.[4]

In an era of unprecedented employee mobility, employers face increasing challenges retaining top talent. Compounding the […]

By | March 31st, 2023 ||