Tech giants, Apple, Intel, Google and Adobe have jacked up their offer to settle a class action lawsuit that accuses them of colluding on a secret “no-poaching ” deal that prevents the four companies from hiring each other workers.
The class action suit by some 64,000 workers alleges that the no-poaching agreement has driven down the salaries of IT professionals and hampered their ability to move between jobs.
San Jose, Calif. District Court Judge Lucy Koh earlier ruled that the companies’ earlier offer of $324.5 million was too low so now the four are putting $415 million on the table.
The case stems from activities between 2005 and 2009 of this four corporations alongside Lucasfilm, Intuit and Pixar regarding a secret non-poaching agreement
Lucasfilm, Pixar and Intuit in 2013, settled with workers long before the case got to trial
The $415 million offered by the remaining defendants is $90 million more than the amount initially rejected by Koh and still above the $380 million she said companies would need to offer before she would approve it.
Apple and Google declined to comment on the matter and an Intel spokesperson said Intel denies allegations in the suit and said the company did not violate any laws.