There is a difference between active poaching and simply getting a resume (or some other expression of interest) from somebody for an open position. a) If you

There is a difference between active poaching and simply getting a resume (or some other expression of interest) from somebody for an open position. a) If you get sent a resume in response to an open req and you reject them based solely on the current employer of the applicant being a "friendly company" ("do not hire" list), that is illegal and wrong. b) If you realize the applicant is from a "friendly company" and so you make a subtle threat along the lines of: "We are going to call your current employer to get a reference check before we decide to extend any offer, are you sure that's ok with you?" (also recommended in Horowitz's book), it's also wrong and unfair. I'm not a lawyer so I don't know if that is overtly illegal however.