The BBC reports that four of the biggest technology firms, Adobe, Apple, Google, and Intel, have settled a class action lawsuit against them that alleged that they conspired to hold down salaries. The amount of the settlement has not been disclosed by the companies involved.
The US lawsuit had claimed $3bn (£1.8bn) in damages on behalf of more than 64,000 workers at the four firms.
If the companies had lost the case and damages were awarded, they could have tripled to $9bn under US antitrust laws.
Chuck Mulloy, spokesman for Intel, said the firm denies any wrongdoing but chose to settle "to avoid the risks, burdens and uncertainties of ongoing litigation."
Meanwhile, Adobe said in a statement: "We firmly believe that our recruiting policies have in no way diminished competition for talent in the marketplaces."
Google and Apple declined to comment.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Subsentient on Friday April 25 2014, @08:49PM
Figures. People are always bought out by giant checks. They should have pursued this case until the stinger hit these corporations squarely in the ass.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Friday April 25 2014, @08:52PM
That's totally clear, but: it's big checks to the lawyers. "Terms of settlement not disclosed" means that any affected employees will get a Starbucks gift certificate, while the lawyers get a few million for their troubles.
Class actions suits in the USA are a total joke. The lack of disclosure is to hide the unpleasant truth. Wanna bet?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by black6host on Friday April 25 2014, @08:59PM
Nope, wouldn't bet you on that one. Class action lawsuits are good if they can prevent companies from pulling crap like this in the future. They do little for those already harmed.
The lawyers are the real winners here. I don't even bother with class action suits that may have something to do with me. I know I might see a check for $3.97 USD and spend more than that just to get it. It's not worth it.
Our entire legal system has gone to hell in a handcart. Ok, maybe a slight overstatement. But not too far from the truth.....
(Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Friday April 25 2014, @10:12PM
Our legal system has all but failed in the terms of it providing justice equally.
The issue is the unequal application of justice, not that they cannot establish order.
However, you are not that far from the truth. A neighbor arguing between neighbor can expect to see justice equally served. A neighbor arguing with MegaCorp rarely receives any real justice, and the justice provided fails to create a deterrent.
It doesn't help when those that lead justice at its highest levels have abrogated their duty to protect justice, to ensure its equal application.
Considering the apparent speed by which corporations and monied interests have been able to pervert justice to engage in ever more destructive behavior, I'm not so sure it is outline of line to compare it to hell.
At least from the point of view of the bottom, which 99% of us are.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Friday April 25 2014, @10:59PM
They don't prevent it. That's the whole point. Class action is broken when you allow settlement and gag orders. $3 billion for those companies is a drop in the bucket. They'll probably pay the lawyers in stock.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday April 26 2014, @03:29AM
$3Bn was what the lawsuit amount was for.
The settlement amount is only $350million or so [according to other articles I've read]. So it's only a 1/10th of a drop...
(Score: 1) by kaszz on Friday April 25 2014, @09:41PM
Would there be enough cash around to drive the case even further?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by black6host on Friday April 25 2014, @09:03PM
Sure, they may have been hit with a $3bn judgement. But how much did they save by their anti-poaching practices. Makes that judgement a lot less costly. Might even have made some money on the whole deal....
(Score: -1) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 25 2014, @10:15PM
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday April 25 2014, @10:24PM
Firemen are barely middle class. That's a lot of risk for not much money, and they tend to die young.
Lawyers do everything to line their pockets, very few even consider the common good.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 25 2014, @10:45PM
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday April 25 2014, @11:06PM
I know for a fact that Chicago city employees are required to live in the city. $55k isn't a lot when you live in Chicago. It's only comfortable if you have a small family. Those are pension numbers, indexed on the last few years. Most don't make nearly that much.
Should i talk about the risk associated with being a cop or fireman in Chicago?
(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Friday April 25 2014, @11:38PM
Lawyers^Hcorporations do everything to line their pockets, very few even consider the common good.
USA USA USA!
(sigh).
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Friday April 25 2014, @11:53PM
I think of lawyers as modern day mercenaries. I don't blame them directly but those that hire them to do evil stuff.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday April 25 2014, @11:23PM
A spree arsonist hit (along with 5 other locations in a 20-mile radius) a full dumpster on the side of my apartment. Since there was no extinguisher closeby I was running in and out of the shower in my chonies and with my kitchen trash can trying to manually extinguish the fire. It was like a scene out of a bad cartoon. If the fire department hadn't shown up, that fire that was just starting to spread to the wood housing where the gas lines were would have blown my apartment skyhigh (and me with it if I did not wake up in time).
Lawyers can't do much for your livelihood if you're already dead.
Yeah, yeah, anecdotes and all; but modern lawyers are doing their best to create their own make-work problem regardless of alignment(though I do agree with you when it comes to organizations like the ACLU and the EFF).
As for America's military, they are not heroes for the most part. I was in, a lot of people I know were in, and they agree. Sure, once in awhile you have your Pat Tillman or other rich kid who goes in out of patriotism or because they have something to prove, but 99.9999 percent are in it for themselves. They are likely unskilled and looking for a free ride through college, or lack the skills to earn a job that pays enough to support a family, or they have no other way to get out of Peoria or Gainesville. Any one of the latter could distinguish themselves as a hero by falling on a grenade to save their platoon or running through gunfire to get the injured back to the helo, for example, but that America likes to call its military "heroes" just for being in the military is not only a farce but insulting to the few who've actually experienced combat(especially, as my Grandpa* used to say, "fought in real wars," which means WWII).
But back on-topic, lawyers (usually) suck.