Callahan & Blaine

Six Silicon Valley corporate giants, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Pixar and Adobe Systems admit they had a secret agreement not to hire employees away from the other companies using “cold call” tactics. In violation of federal anti-trust law, the companies agreed to the “no cold call” pact in 1996.

According to documents from the U.S. Department of Justice, the secret agreement stifled competition between companies, kept salaries artificially low, and ultimately hurt employees who effectively could not move to a potentially better job.

Critics say Silicon Valley companies are too chummy, and the secret pact could indicate other areas of collusion by the six corporations.

Google maintains it did nothing wrong, and in a written statement said there is “no evidence” the pact affected wages or hiring practices. An Intel spokesman stated, “Intel does not believe its actions violated the law, nor does the company agree with the allegations.”

Despite denials of wrongdoing, the companies confessed to the practice of non-solicitation of the other companies’ workers. In return for the confession, there will be no fines, no admission of wrongdoing, and an understanding that the companies will not to enter into similar secret agreements in the future. The agreement between Silicon Valley and the Department of Justice still must be approved in federal court, and requires the corporations to file statements of compliance for a five year period.

The law office of Callahan & Blaine is California’s premier litigation firm, specializing in class action employment lawsuits. In one of our class action employment law cases that took place in Orange County, California, Callahan & Blaine lawyers negotiated a $42 million settlement for a group paper carriers denied employment rights by the Orange County Register.

If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated or discriminated against by an employer, contact California’s premier litigation firm, Callahan & Blaine, to discuss your employment law case today.