Fast Food Companies Like Burger King Agree to Nix No-Poach Clauses

The Washington Attorney General has secured another victory in his fight against no-poach clauses, with eight new restaurants including Burger King pledging to remove the harmful clauses from their contracts nationwide.

On Sept. 13, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that eight corporate, fast food chains have pledged to end no-poach clauses in their contracts nationwide. The fast food companies involved in the new no-poach clauses agreement include:

• A&W (28 Washington locations, estimated 629 locations nationwide)
• Burger King (120 Washington locations, estimated 7,226 locations nationwide)
• Denny’s (56 Washington locations, estimated 1,607 locations nationwide)
• Papa John’s (52 Washington locations, estimated 3,314 locations nationwide)
• Pizza Hut (131 Washington locations, estimated 7,496 locations nationwide)
• Popeyes (22 Washington locations, estimated 2,231 locations nationwide)
• Tim Hortons (no Washington locations, estimated 738 locations nationwide)
• Wingstop (12 Washington locations, estimated 1,027 locations nationwide)

“The companies will remove all no-poach clauses, which put downward pressure on wages and restrict worker mobility, from all current and future franchise contracts,” said the Office of the Attorney General in a statement.

Under the agreements, the companies are required to remove no-poach clauses from existing contracts in Washington state within 60 to 120 days. For locations outside of Washington, the companies have agreed to remove no-poach clauses as contracts come up for renewal.

The eight new companies join 15 other companies in Ferguson’s fight to end no-poach clauses. In total, the 23 companies which have entered agreements employ millions of workers at over 67,000 locations across the country.

With a new victory under his belt, Ferguson continues to investigate numerous fast food companies including Baskin Robbins, Domino’s, Quiznos, Firehouse Subs and Jersey Mike’s. Should these companies be found to use no-poaching clauses and refuse to enter into a similar agreement, Ferguson will take legal action against them for violation of antitrust provisions in Washington’s Unfair Business Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

“My goal is to eliminate no-poach clauses nationwide to benefit workers,” said Ferguson. “No-poach provisions create a rigged system where businesses no longer have to compete for workers, putting downward pressure on wages nationwide. That’s wrong — and illegal.”

No-poach clauses in fast food contracts can cause serious problems for employees. These clauses restrict their ability to be hired by other franchises. In turn, this limits their ability to find more competitive positions, move upward in a company, or negotiate wages. These clauses are often difficult for employees to fight, as they are woven into franchise contracts and do not appear in employee contracts.

After having huge success investigating antitrust violations in the fast food industry, Ferguson has turned to a variety of other industries including: hotels, car repair services, gyms, home healthcare services, cleaning services, convenience stores, tax preparation, parcel services, electronics repair services, child care, custom window covering services, travel services, and insurance adjustor services.

If you work or worked for a fast food company such as Burger King and were affected by a no-poach clause, you may be eligible to take legal action against your employer. A fast food no-poach clause lawsuit could help recover compensation for violation of antitrust laws.

Join a Free Fast Food Employee Poaching Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you work for McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, Papa John’s, Domino’s, Burger King or Arby’s and were prevented from moving to a different franchise that is part of the same company, you may have been the victim of a no-poach agreement. If so, you may qualify to participate in this employee poaching class action lawsuit investigation.

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