Examples of Prohibited Meeting Topics
To maintain compliance with antitrust laws during meetings, participants must avoid discussions or actions that could be construed as anti-competitive. Here are key examples of prohibited topics and behaviors, supported by guidance from legal and regulatory sources:
1. Price-Related Discussions
- Price fixing: Avoid agreements or discussions about setting prices, setting price ranges, or coordinating pricing strategies (e.g., "Let’s all charge $X for this service").
- Discounts/terms: Refrain from sharing details about discounts, payment terms, credit policies, or compensation structures.
- Costs/profits: Do not disclose or compare internal costs, profit margins, or labor costs.
2. Market or Customer Allocation
- Territory division: Never agree to divide geographic markets, customer groups, or product lines (e.g., "We’ll take the East Coast; you take the West").
- Non-solicitation agreements: Avoid informal or formal agreements not to recruit or hire competitors’ employees ("no-poaching").
3. Bid Manipulation
- Bid rigging: Do not coordinate bids, agree to rotate winning bids, or submit "cover bids" to create a false appearance of competition.
- Contract allocation: Refrain from discussions about which competitor should "win" a tender or how to split contracts.
4. Competitively Sensitive Information Sharing
- Pricing data: Avoid exchanging current or future pricing information, even indirectly, through third parties.
- Production/sales: Do not share details about production volumes, sales strategies, or inventory levels.
- Customer/supplier lists: Never discuss specific clients, suppliers, or plans to boycott certain businesses.
5. Coordinated Behavior
- Group boycotts: Do not discuss collective refusals to deal with specific customers, suppliers, or competitors.
- Output restrictions: Avoid agreements to limit production, reduce service availability, or manipulate supply.
6. Hypothetical or "Best Practice" Discussions
- Even theoretical conversations about industry pricing norms, "fair" profit margins, or "standard" contract terms can imply collusion.
Practical Red Flags
- Informal side conversations: Antitrust violations often occur during breaks, meals, or virtual chats—maintain vigilance.
- Parallel behavior: Consistently mirroring competitors’ actions (e.g., simultaneous price hikes) without legitimate justification may trigger scrutiny.
- Documentation risks: Avoid creating notes, emails, or minutes that suggest coordinated decisions.
Recommended Actions If Risky Topics Arise
- Immediately halt the discussion and state objections on the record.
- Leave the meeting if the conversation continues.
- Report the incident to legal counsel or compliance officers.