Anti-poaching dismissal request by Google, Apple and 5 others denied, judge takes suit to Court

Generally when we hear about courts, judges and lawsuits our brains default to Apple suiting someone. Generally that is pretty spot on. In a twisted turn of events though, this suit is aimed at Apple,Â Adobe, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar. A Northern California district judge, Lucy Koh, ruled late last night denied the dismissal request of the allegations brought against theÂ mentioned giants.Â Those allegations involve secretive anti-poaching deals made between the various companies.

What is anti-poaching? Essentially all of the big guys agreed to not attempt to steal each others employees. Meaning is an Apple employee was killing it in a department and doing great things, Google couldn’t call them up and offer them better pay, more perks and a new office to bring them over. May not seem like a big deal, but it ultimately impactsÂ compensationÂ and job opportunities for current and would be employees.

The agreements didn’t punish employees though. They were still free to apply to positions and move to another company at any point and time. None the less, anti-poaching deals is still anÂ illegalÂ activity. There areÂ numerousÂ dissatisfiedÂ employeesÂ in all of the companies going to trial. One of theÂ attorneysÂ representing the employees is anticipating a settlement in the hundreds of millions of dollars from damages. Most likely estimated on the impact of denied salary increases and benefits.

Source: Electronista