Were You Harmed by a Papa John’s Job Poaching Agreement?

Papa John’s and other fast food companies are suspected of having their franchisees sign agreements saying that they will not hire employees of other franchises from the same company. These agreements prevent franchisees from hiring or recruiting each other’s employees in the interest of reducing competition between franchisees.

Such a Papa John’s job poaching agreement would hurt employees by suppressing wages and hindering opportunities for career advancement. Franchises and companies enter into these agreements because as competition decreases, employers aren’t forced to offer high wages, good benefits, or career advancement if employees don’t have opportunities to leave jobs.

Because these agreements hinder competition in the market and suppress wages, both federal and state governments have put laws in place that limit the types of agreements that companies can enter into. Many employees of fast food restaurants claim that their employers’ practice of entering into anti-poaching agreements violate anti-trust laws.

Recently, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Jimmy John’s parent company faced multiple separate lawsuit making such claims. Now, lawyers investigate the possibility of filing a Papa John’s job poaching lawsuit over comparable allegations.

In some cases, restaurants justify no-hire agreements by claiming that it accounts for the amount to time and money they spend training employees, often adding no-hire agreements into employees’ contracts. In these contracts, some companies state that employees must agree to not work for other franchises of the same company if they participate in certain trainings. However, these trainings are often required to perform the job for which an employee was hire, making the no-hire agreement also mandatory.

This practice then prevents employees from taking advantage of the skills that they gained while working a job — skills that make them marketable. These are the skills that in time, could qualify employees for promotions and raises. However, when a no-hire agreement is in place, employees cannot take advantage of these normal career advancement tools.

Reportedly, no-hire agreements have had a particularly negative effect on the fast food industry. In fact, records show that many employees at fast food restaurants make below poverty-level wages.

Though in some cases, no-hire agreements show up in a contract that an employee signs when they accept an offer of employment, sometimes companies make every effort to conceal the fact that they have entered into a no-hire agreement.

If you worked for Papa John’s, your career opportunities and wages may have been negatively affected by a Papa John’s job poaching agreement without your knowledge. Employees of Arby’s, Burger King, Domino’s, Jimmy John’s, Little Caesars, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, or Pizza Hut may have a legal claim if they were not allowed to take a new job at a different franchise with the same company.

An experienced no-hire agreement lawyer can help you determine if you have a legal claim and could gain compensation from joining a Papa John’s job poaching lawsuit.

Join a Free Fast Food Employee Poaching Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you work for Arby’s, Burger King, Jimmy John’s, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut or Domino’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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