A class action lawsuit has been filed against five leading aerospace engineering supply companies for their execution of a no-solicitation and no-hire scheme that allegedly deprived aerospace workers of job mobility and competitive pay. The companies named are Pratt & Whitney, QuEST, Belcan, Cyient, Parametric, and Agilis.

The suit claims that six aerospace executives and managers across the five companies entered into an illegal no-poach agreement to prevent the solicitation, recruitment or hiring of one another’s employees, including but not limited to engineers. To adhere to the agreement, the companies allegedly adopted overlapping hiring and recruiting restrictions to limit competition, control employee mobility and suppress wages.

On December 9, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut unsealed a criminal complaint by the Department of Justice accusing a former aerospace executive, Mahesh Patel of Pratt & Whitney, of organizing and enforcing the unlawful no-poach agreement. No-poach agreements among companies are illegal under the antitrust laws. You can read a copy of the DOJ’s press release here, and can view a copy of the government’s affidavit in support of the complaint here.

Fegan Scott’s Beth Fegan filed the suit on behalf of a former employee and a proposed class of similarly situated employees to recover damages and to prevent the companies from retaining the benefits of the illegal conspiracy.