(NEW YORK CITY) - A Building Services Company has agreed to cancel existing No-Poach Agreements and to refrain from entering any new ones following a joint investigation by the Attorneys General of New York and New Jersey.

The probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that Planned Building Services, among one of the largest Building Services Contractors in the Tri-State Area, entered into illegal No-Poach Agreements with other companies in New York and New Jersey, according to a press release announcing the settlement.

The use of No-Poach Agreements effectively reduces competition for Employees by preventing competitors from hiring them and lowering wages, the Attorneys General noted. 

Planned Building Services did not admit to or deny any of the investigation’s findings, according to the settlement.

Planned Companies, of which Planned Building Services is a part, employs about 5,000 Janitorial Workers, Concierge Employees, Security Staff and other Building Service Workers, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.

As part of the settlement, Planned Companies agreed not to enter into, maintain or enforce any No-Poach Agreements with any of its competitors.

The company must also inform the Attorneys General if a competitor tries to enter into a No-Poach Agreement during the next 10 years.

Attorney General James said: “The people who keep our apartment and office buildings running do essential work every day.  No-Poach Agreements prevent Workers from reaching their full potential by making it harder to find new jobs with better pay and benefits.  Planned’s use of these illegal provisions in their Employees’ contracts stifled their careers, but now we are putting a stop to them.  I will continue to enforce the law to protect Workers’ rights and I thank Attorney General Platkin and our partners at the FTC for their collaboration on this investigation.”

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