On April 13, 2020, the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division issued a joint statement warning companies that both agencies will vigorously protect competition for workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic―including doctors, nurses, first responders and those who work in grocery stores, pharmacies and warehouses, among other essential service providers. The statement acknowledged that the current health crisis may require unprecedented cooperation among government, businesses and individuals, and that there are many permissible ways that firms can engage in procompetitive collaboration. But the agencies made clear that “COVID-19 does not provide a reason to tolerate anticompetitive conduct that harms workers.”
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