California: A federal judge has approved a $415 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging Apple, Google, Intel and several other Silicon Valley companies illegally conspired to prevent their workers from getting better job offers.
The settlement will pay more than 64,000 technology workers about $5,800 apiece.
The approval granted Wednesday by US District Judge Lucy Koh ends a lengthy legal saga that cast former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an unflattering light. Koh had rejected a $324.5 million settlement of the case reached last year as inadequate.
The settlement will be paid by Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe Systems. They were accused of forming a secret cartel that agreed not to recruit each other's workers. Intuit, Pixar and Lucasflim paid $20 million last year to settle the same allegations.
