US: Non-compete class action looms over Apple, Google

A lawsuit accusing companies, including Apple and Google, has just been granted class action status by a federal judge, meaning the tech giants will need to face accusations that the companies made anticompetitive agreements not to hire each others employees.

Reports say the class action, made up of more than 64,000 employees, are accusing the companies – Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe Systems – of colluding to not hire each others’ employees and subsequently keeping those workers’ wages down.

US District Judge Lucy Koh granted the case class action status last Thursday, following an April rejection of the status. A hearing held last August found the group’s case to be “much stronger” than when they had originally applied for class action certification.

Three additional companies named in the original suit have offered settlements; Intuit offered $11 million, while Walt Disney’s Pixar and Lucasfilm have offered $9 million.

The employees are professional programmers, animators, Web developers and other technological specialty groups.

Full content: Bloomberg

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