By Paul Eckles, Karen Hoffman Lent, Matthew Martino and Tara Reinhart ( October 23, 2018, 1:09 PM EDT) -- In recent weeks, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included "no-poach" clauses in their franchise operating agreements. Such clauses typically prohibit franchisees from hiring employees directly from the franchisor or other franchisees for up to six months following the end of their employment. Ferguson has been touting the ongoing success of his investigation with respect to fast food chains, and franchise-based chains in other industries appear to be his next target....