Tech giants including Google and Apple have reportedly reached a new settlement deal to resolve the anti-poaching class action lawsuit filed by 65,000 tech workers.
The lawsuit, filed in 2011, accused the tech giants- Apple, Google, Intel Corp and Adobe Systems Inc of conspiring to avoid poaching each other’s employees. The case was based mainly on emails in which Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt and some of their rivals discussed plans to avoid poaching each other’s workers.
The action follows a previous judgment that rejected the tech giants’ first settlement proposal. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, last year rejected a $324.5 million settlement of the lawsuit for falling “below the range of reasonableness.”
Koh noted that the deal with Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe “would need to total at least $380 million” to settle.
One of the named plaintiffs, former Adobe engineer Michael Devine, who earlier objected the $324.5 million settlement, is now in support of the new settlement agreement, his attorney Daniel Girard said.
In the short court filing on Tuesday, the companies said plaintiffs will file a detailed explanation of the new deal “imminently.”
Financial details of the proposed settlement with the tech giants have not yet been disclosed, although it’s expected to be at least around $380 million, in accordance with Koh’s previous ruling. The new settlement would require the approval of the court.
The proposal is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday.
