Kawahito Shraga & Westrick LLP Attorneys at Law | Los Angeles

Class action employment claims may be settled for $415 million

A group of class action claims dealing with employee rights are finally coming to an end, if a federal judge in California approves the settlement amount. The consolidated cases were ready for trial this spring against Silicon Valley giants Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe, the remaining companies that did not previosly settle. The employment claims demand reparations for an alleged conspiracy by the big high tech companies to not hire away each other's engineers.

The agreement had the effect of stifling mobility and earnings for engineers employed by the companies. The plot was revealed by the Justice Department in 2010. The class action cases were consolidated as a group and are being heard by the same federal district court judge.

There was a tentative settlement in 2013 in which the four companies would pay $324.5 million to the 64,000 class members. However, both the employees and the presiding federal judge nixed the agreement as being too paltry. It would have paid each of the class members a few thousand dollars each.

This time around, insiders report that the amount is $415 million. It is generally being reported that the judge will likely approve this proposal. It appears that the defendants do not want a trial, which could expose some of the seedy details of the claimed misconduct.

Substantial revelations are found in emails between company executives, and they do not paint a pretty picture. The general perception put out in the media is that the late Steve Jobs was the mastermind and tight-fisted organizer of the plot. If settled, the unattractive aspects of the matter may finally be put to rest for the California high tech companies, along with bringing some measure of satisfaction to the employment claims of the class members. It is also generally agreed among litigants and observers that the extensive litigation process fairly well assures that the companies will not try the same tactics in the future.

Source: The New York Times, "Bigger Settlement Said to Be Reached in Silicon Valley Antitrust Case", David Streitfeld, Jan. 14, 2015

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