Tech Workers Denied Certification in Anti-Poaching Case

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A California federal judge declined to certify a class action lawsuit by tech workers alleging an illegal anti-poaching agreement formed by Apple, Google, Intel and other technology companies, but opened the door for the workers to amend their complaint and try again.

If successful, the anti-poaching class action lawsuit could cover close to 150,000 workers employed by Adobe Systems, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

Plaintiffs in the proposed class action lawsuit accuse the companies of forming an illegal cartel spearheaded by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs; former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who is now its executive chairman; and Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell.

All three served on Apple’s board of director’s throughout the alleged conspiracy, which the plaintiffs say included setting up “Do Not Call” lists and instructing recruiters not to call employees on this list. By eliminating competition for employees, the anti-solicitation agreements cost workers millions of dollars in suppressed wages and incentives, according to the class action lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said evidence presented in the case thus far, including emails between the chief executives, “indicate that the agreements may have had broad effects on Defendants’ employees.”

Koh had remarked in an earlier court decision last August that the executives appeared to have “significant influence” on the anti-poaching agreements.

In her decision last week, Judge Koh expressed concern about whether the evidence will be able to show the tech companies maintained such rigid compensation structures that a suppression of wages to some employees affected all or nearly all of the proposed class.

“The Court is also concerned that Plaintiffs’ proposed classes may be defined so broadly as to include large numbers of people who were not necessarily harmed by Defendants’ allegedly unlawful conduct,” Koh added.

In light of this new information, Koh allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint to address her concerns and re-file it.

The Tech Worker Anti-Poaching Class Action Lawsuit case is In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 11-cv-02509, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

UPDATE 1: Judge Koh certified an amended complaint in October 2013. In January 2014, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by executives at Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe to dismiss the class action lawsuit against the tech giants.

UPDATE 2: Google, Apple, Intel, and Adobe reached a class action settlement agreement on April 24, 2014.

UPDATE 3: The high-tech employee class action settlement has paid out! Checks were mailed the week of December 21, 2015. If you received a check, let us know in the comments. Congrats to everyone who got paid!