Kensington Vanguard National Land Services LLC has reached an agreement with the Attorney General of New York to end illegal “no-poach agreements” and pay the state $1 million.
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced the "Assurance of Discontinuance" agreement with Kensington, one of the nation’s largest independent title insurance agencies, and its underwriters.
According to James, an investigation by her office discovered that Kensington and its underwriters “entered into illegal no-poach agreements where they would not solicit each other’s employees, reducing competition and therefore negatively impacting wages and opportunities for workers.”
In addition to agreeing to terminate all existing no-poach agreements and pay the $1 million, Kensington also agreed to cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General's ongoing investigations of the industry, James said.
The agency also agreed to pay the state a "a stipulated penalty of $50,000 per month" if it were to "default in the performance of any obligation in this Assurance ...." The amount would be paid for "each and every such default," the document states.
Officials with Kensington Vanguard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agreement states that Kensington “enters into this Assurance for the purpose of resolving the OAG Investigation only, and neither admits nor denies the OAG’s findings.”
“Hard work and experience in any career is supposed to help employees grow and achieve better wages and opportunities,” James said. “However, when companies illegally collude and make no-poach agreements, they hold workers back.”
She continued, “No-poach agreements have become a systemic problem in the title insurance industry, and that is why my office has been focused on rooting out this unacceptable practice to protect workers. New Yorkers deserve fair pay for their hard work and experience, and their career growth should never be threatened by companies cutting illegal deals with competitors.”
Kensington sells title insurance policies issued by title insurance underwriters. Underwriters also sell title insurance policies directly, in competition with Kensington and other title agencies.
Underwriters’ direct agents and independent agencies are competitors in the labor market and should be able to compete for employees on the basis of salaries, benefits, and career opportunities, James said, adding that Kensington’s no-poach policies with its underwriters prevented that from happening.
The agreement continues James’ work to stop unlawful no-poach agreements that stifle both competition and careers, the OAG’s office said. James has now ended the use of no-poach agreements by four of the five largest commercial underwriters in the United States — Fidelity, Stewart, Amtrust, and Old Republic — and two of the largest independent title insurance agencies, First Nationwide and Kensington Vanguard.
The agreement announced Wednesday raises the total amount secured by James from title insurance companies for illegal no-poach agreements to $9.25 million, her office said.
In March 2019, James and a coalition of state attorneys general entered into an agreement with four national fast food franchisors — Arby’s, Dunkin’, Five Guys, and Little Caesars — that ended their use of no-poach agreements.
