Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel Settle Silicon Valley Poaching Case
In a case that exposed the dark side of hiring practices in Silicon Valley, Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe have settled a major lawsuit alleging they colluded not to poach employees from each other, according to a letter filed Thursday with the federal judge handling the case.
The letter, from lawyers representing tens of thousands of employees who sued over the “no poaching” agreements, does not include an amount, but reveals that the terms of the settlement will be presented by May 27 to U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh.
The 64,000 valley employees suing the companies were entitled to as much as $3 billion in damages, according to experts who would have testified on their behalf at trial. Experts for the companies had countered in court papers that the conduct did not cost workers much, if any, money, and disputed claims that it discouraged engineers and others from switching employers.
More: Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel Settle Silicon Valley Poaching Case - San Jose Mercury News