H&R Block Tax Preparer Pay Reduced by No-Poaching Agreements, Employees Report

Employees who work as an H&R Block tax preparer may be negatively affected by no-poaching agreements without realizing it.

H&R Block employees have already filed more than one employee class action lawsuit claiming that the tax preparation company entered into unlawful agreements with its franchises that limited employees’ abilities to seek work at other H&R Block locations.

Employees, some of whom are managers and tax preparers, claim that H&R Block was using these no-poach agreements as early as 2009 and continued to use them until May 2018. These employees argue that the agreements violate U.S. antitrust laws. According to the employees, the agreements are illegal because they are anti-competitive, preventing employees from being able to make career moves that benefit them and seeking higher wages.

H&R Block has franchises, meaning that it licenses its name to independent businesses to offer tax preparation services under the H&R Block name. The company also has locations that are owned by the company itself.

No-poaching agreements sometimes show up in contracts between a company and its franchisees, as a way to attempt to limit competition for employees. While they can help franchisees hold on to employees, worker advocates say they push wages down and inhibit employees’ career mobility.

Allegedly, such is the case in agreements made between H&R Block and its franchisees regarding its employees working as tax preparers and managers. One H&R Block tax preparer no-poaching agreements lawsuit claims that H&R Block included a “Restrictions on Competition” clause in franchise agreements that all franchisees had to sign.

According to employees, this clause dictated that “during the term of this Agreement, neither Franchisee nor any Franchisee’s Associates will, without H&R Block’s prior written consent … Solicit for employment any person who is employed by H&R Block or by any other franchisee of H&R Block.”

The employees argue that this clause limits the ability of employees to seek employment at other H&R Block locations, and inhibited them from seeking higher wages. They report that the wages for H&R tax preparer and manager positions are well below the industry average, at least in part due to wage suppression caused by possibly illegal no-poaching agreements.

The employees say the average pay for an H&R Block tax preparer is $10.86 per hour, which they claim is much lower than the national average. They cite the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which states that the average hourly rate for a tax preparer is $22.76 per hour — over twice what an H&R Block tax preparer makes.

If you work as an H&R Block tax preparer or a manager at H&R Block, you may have been affected by no-poaching agreements. You may not know that you have been subject to one of these agreements — employers often do not make it known to employees that no-poaching agreements are at play, but they could have kept your wages low and decreased your ability to negotiate for benefits.

Join a Free H&R Block Employee Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were an H&R Block employee at any time between 2009 and May 2018 and were prevented from obtaining employment at another H&R Block franchise, you may qualify to file an H&R Block class action lawsuit.

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