Reuters reports that Apple, Intel, Google, and Adobe have settled the class-action lawsuit filed against them for an anti-poaching agreement the companies had made. The settlement was revealed in a filing with the court, but details of the settlement were not available.
MacRumors reports that the no-hire agreements between the companies first came to light in 2011, after tech workers filed a class action lawsuit alleging the firms had conspired not to poach employees from one another in an effort to keep salaries lower.
The agreements dated back to 2005, and in addition to Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe, they also involved Lucasfilm, Pixar, Intuit, and others. The agreements specified that recruiters for the companies were not allowed to contact employees whose names were on no contact lists.
Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Intuit had settled their cases earlier for approximately $20 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice became involved in the case back in 2010. It then ordered the companies to cease the no-poaching agreements. The class-action civil lawsuit involving 64,000 employees was then allowed to proceed.
The terms of today’s settlement will be presented to District Judge Lucy Koh on May 27th.
