Apple and Other Companies Reach Settlement in Anti-Poaching Lawsuit

After years of back and forth, Apple and three other tech firms have reached a settlement, with the plaintiffs ending an antitrust class action lawsuit that accused companies of conspiring to avoid poaching each other’s employees, Reuters reports.

Google, Intel, and Adobe Systems was also involved in the lawsuit filed in 2011. The tech workers’ main problem were the limitations imposed by the anti-poaching agreement: It hurt their mobility and, as a result, kept a lid on salaries.

This was the second attempt to reach an agreement, as last year the tech companies wanted to close the lawsuit by offering a $324 million settlement. This was rejected by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, who ruled that this amount was too low after one of the named plaintiffs objected.

Under the new agreement, Apple and the other three companies will have to shell out $415 million, according to a source close to the negotiations speaking with the New York Times.