Big settlement in tech wage case harks back to different era
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has approved a $415 million settlement that ends a lengthy legal saga revolving around allegations that Apple, Google and several other Silicon Valley companies illegally conspired to prevent their workers from getting better job offers.
Lawyers for the employees argued the secret agreement illegally suppressed the wages of the affected workers.
Silicon Valley employers now regularly raid each other's workforces in search of talented engineers who might help them come up with new ideas and build technology's next hot product.
The lawsuit depicted Jobs as the conniving ringleader of a scheme designed to minimize the chances that top computer programmers and other talented employees would defect to other technology companies.
[...] Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk earlier this year said that Apple was offering $250,000 signing bonuses and 60 percent raises to persuade some of his employees to leave the electric car maker.