US: Apple, Google reach new accord in antitrust hiring case

Apple and Google reached a new settlement over claims they and other Silicon Valley companies conspired to avoid hiring one another’s employees, after a judge concluded their first proposal didn’t offer enough money for affected workers.

Plaintiffs accused Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe Systems in the 2011 lawsuit of limiting job mobility and, as a result, keeping a lid on salaries.

This past August, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected the proposed settlement of $324.5 million as too low, ruling that any reappraised figure would have to be at least $380 million. Then, on Tuesday night , Reuters reported that the companies had agreed on a new settlement, and the New York Times followed up with a report that said the settlement figure had risen to $415 million, citing “a source close to the negotiations.”

The suit focuses specifically on the companies targeted by a 2009 antitrust investigation by the US Department of Justice. That investigation and the civil lawsuit that followed were settled back in September 2011, with the aforementioned companies agreeing to discontinue the non-solicitation agreements. Nonetheless, the suit says the companies are still profiting in the aftermath of the practice.

News of the new settlement was first reported by Reuters.

Full Content: New York Times

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