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Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe settle over wages scandal

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Apr 2014 9:52 User comments (6)

Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe settle over wages scandal Tech giants Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe have settled and will pay $324 million over accusations that the companies conspired to keep wages/salaries down in Silicon Valley.
Had the companies not settled, a trial would have begun next month and damages could have potentially been higher.

The class action lawsuit was filed in 2011 by tech employees who accused the companies of conspiring to "refrain from soliciting one another's employees" in order to keep salaries down and avoid bidding wars that would have raised wages.

In the suit, the plaintiffs were seeking $3 billion in damages, and that figure could have ballooned to $9 billion if it was determined that the group violated antitrust law.

The case was based mainly on emails from Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt and others that revealed the companies would not court employees from rivals. One such example showed that a Google recruiter tried to solicit an Apple employee and former Google CEO Schmidt told Jobs the recruiter would then be fired. Many of the emails were even worse.



A settlement helps the companies avoid an embarrassing jury trial in which the executives would certainly look unsympathetic. The class action is on behalf of 64,000 workers.

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6 user comments

125.4.2014 22:09

Some of the richest and most evil companies in technology conspiring and violating anti-trust? Well Duh!!

226.4.2014 15:19

The Richer the Corporations the more GREEDY they all are.
They are nothing more that the ENEMY of the people.
Thanks to all of us THE PEOPLE they have employees and customers to make money from. And what we get in return: Treat all of us like "SLAVES" while the U.S. Govt. look the other way.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 26 Apr 2014 @ 3:32

32.5.2014 16:27

So, those 64,000 people will still get nothing, since the lawyers will eat up most of that 324 million. Even if the lawyers worked for free, each person would get $5,062 each.

42.5.2014 18:19

Settling a potentially $ 3 to $ 9 billion suit for $ 300 million is not even pennies to the dollar.

52.5.2014 22:17

3 to 10 cents to the dollar.

63.5.2014 16:26

Originally posted by ddp:
3 to 10 cents to the dollar.
That's about all a dollar is worth anyway.. lol

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