Key facts
- Compass International Holdings barred salaried employees and brokerage managers from Realtor association leadership roles.
- Compass International Holdings said it has filed lawsuits against 15 MLSs, many owned by Realtor associations.
- Consultant Craig McClelland said staff should not vote on policies at an organization Compass is suing.
- Attorney Russ Cofano said the restriction makes sense as risk management against antitrust claims.
- Consultant Amit Kulkarni said the policy also steps back from NAR's regulatory and legislative advocacy.
Compass International Holdings adopted a policy preventing its salaried employees and brokerage managers from holding leadership roles at Realtor associations, according to a report published November 13, 2026. The report ties the decision to the firm's announcement that it has filed lawsuits against 15 MLSs, many of which are owned by Realtor associations.
Amit Kulkarni, a co-founder of Alloy Advisors, said the separation follows from the litigation. "They probably don't want any of their employees on the board of an entity that is suing them or that they are suing," he said. Craig McClelland, a partner at McClelland and Hahn Consulting, said he would also be wary of conflict-of-interest issues, describing the policy as "good business etiquette."
Russ Cofano, an Alloy Advisors co-founder and attorney, said the restriction makes sense as risk management. He described an argument that employees of large companies in Realtor association leadership become part of the decision-making apparatus behind rules alleged to be illegal, drawing their employers into antitrust complaints.
In its lawsuits, Compass International Holdings and CEO Robert Reffkin have said MLS and Realtor association boards are anticompetitive because they are made up of Compass's competitors. Reffkin has claimed in public statements that MLSs "abuse their power by creating mandatory rules" and that the MLS has been "weaponized" against agents.
Kulkarni said he finds it surprising that a company looking to reshape how organized real estate does business would keep employees out of an organization making decisions about how the industry operates. He also described the move as Compass stepping away from the National Association of Realtors' regulatory and legislative advocacy. Cofano said Compass needs to push NAR out of the equation to market listings publicly without entering them into the MLS.