Apple and Google Settle Lawsuit Over Illegal No-Poaching Agreement

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs, right, talks with Google founder Sergey Brin, left, as Google CEO Eric Schmidt, center, looks on after Jobs' keynote at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008.

Image: Paul Sakuma/Associated Press

By Samantha Murphy Kelly2014-04-24 21:19:05 UTC

Four tech companies — Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel — have settled a lawsuit against involving an illegal no-poaching agreement that prevented the firms from hiring each other's staffers.

A class-action lawsuit, filed by thousands of tech employees back in 2011, claimed that the companies conspired not to poach employees as a part of an effort to keep salaries lower. The agreement created "no contact" lists, preventing recruiters from contacting people at competing companies.

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According to a Reuters report, the companies agreed to settle the lawsuit, though terms of the deal were not disclosed. The settlement goes before a judge on May 27.

The news comes just a few weeks before a trial was set to begin. The United States Department of Justice got involved and required the companies to halt any anti-poaching agreement in place.

In March, more emails between Google chairman Eric Schmidt and founder Sergey Brin surfaced online, which detailed the agreement between Google and Apple to not go after each other's talent.

Other companies were also involved, including Pixar, Lucasfilm and Intuit, although they previously settled their lawsuits for about $20 million.

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Topics: apple, Apps and Software, Intel, intuit, Jobs, Mobile, pixar, Startups, Tech