Adobe, Apple, Google Dodge Bullet in Antitrust Investigation of Their Hiring Practices

The US Justice Department announced reaching a settlement with six major tech companies regarding an investigation started in 2009 about secret agreements reached between the companies in relation to their hiring practices.

About a year ago, the Justice Department got wind of a rumor from Silicon Valley that major companies where avoiding calling each other's employees when needing new personnel.

After a period of silence, Friday September 24th, the Justice Department released a ruling in this matter.

Based on their findings it was proved that Google, Adobe, Apple, Pixar, Intuit and Intel had secret unofficial deals with one another of not head hunting each others employees.

Five agreements where detailed in the report, spanning a period of 4 years, between 2005 and 2009, when scared by the start of the investigation, most companies relinquished them and went back at their old stratagems.

Deal #1 - Beginning 2006, Apple and Google agreed to place each other on their HR Departments “Do Not Call” list.

Deal #2 - From May 2005, Apple set up a similar deal with Adobe.

Deal #3 - From April 2007, Apple and Pixar management agreed not to cold call each other’s employees.

Deal #4 - Google and business giant Intuit agreed to a “cease fire” regarding cold calling employees in June 2007.

Deal #5 – Three months later, Google and Intel agreed to a similar deal.

The settlement proposed by the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department will be forwarded for approval to a judge and will be effect for the next five years, prohibiting the aforementioned companies in engaging in anti-competitive no solicitation agreements.

Google replied to the ruling with a post on its Public Policy blog, admitting its practices, but also stating it canceled any agreements with its partners about cold calling employees in late 2009 after the investigation started.

The full Justice Department ruling can be read here. More documents are expected to come out in the following days, but judging on the ruling, all companies dodged a major bullet, getting away with just a simple warning and not any fines or other business restrictions.