Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

Re: can i work here??

In my opinion, this is not legal. I don't spend a lot of time working with anti-trust law, but unless the two restaurants are part of the same company, I suspect what they are doing is a violation of anti-trust laws. However, since your goal is to get hired on, you are in a tough spot. Employers seem to get cold feet over employees who say, "A lawyer told me that what you are doing is illegal." If you don't get hired, and you can show that, but for this agreement between the two employers you would have been hired, I think you will have a case. However, you will still not have a job. You could also contact the Department of Labor and Industries about this.

I would suggest that you go ahead and ask you old boss to release you to work at the new place. If he says "yes", you're in. If he says, "no", he has still confirmed the existence of the agreement, and that will be helpful to you if you decide to pursue the matter through legal channels.

Meanwhile, of course, I would urge you also to keep applying at other places with less questionable employment practices. Good luck!