Apple, Google pay off 64,000 workers to kill anti-poaching lawsuit

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Apple suppliers are enjoying huge revenue boosts thanks to the iPhone 6
Apple suppliers are enjoying huge revenue boosts thanks to the iPhone 6

 

Apple hasn’t shied from going toe-to-toe in a heavy legal battle for months or years if need be, but rather than seeing its latest class action lawsuit go to trial, Apple has relented to settle instead.

Four major tech companies including Apple and Google reached a settlement this morning with the 64,000 tech workers who filed a class action lawsuit on the grounds that the Silicon Valley firms had conspired to keep wages artificially low through no-hire agreements.

The case was slated to go to trial on May 22nd after Judge Lucy Koh ruled in October that the concerns of the conspiracy were overarching enough to be reasonably tried as a class-action lawsuit. The tech workers claim that from 2005 to 2009 Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel conspired to not poach each others’ employees in order to avert salary bidding wars.

Pixar, Intuit, and Lucasfilms were also investigated in the lawsuit originally but decided to settle months ago. Terms of Apple’s settlement have not been revealed, but its unlikely the check will be anywhere near the $3 billion in damages the plaintiffs were hoping for.

Update: $324 million is the total amount Apple and Google and the others have agreed to pay.

Source: Reuters

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