According to a Reuters report on Yahoo! Finance, U.S. district judge Edward Davila has approved in a brief order a settlement between eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and federal antitrust authorities over eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s illegal agreement not to solicit a rival company’s employees.
Under the terms of the settlement, eBay has to pay $3.75 million to compensate workers negatively affected by the no-poach agreements it had with its rivals as part of the settlement with California antitrust regulators, the article says. The company entered into a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) in 2006, which involves former eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s executive Meg Whitman, now the Chief Executive Officer at Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s founder Scott Cook, the court documents revealed. Cook, who also served on eBay’s board, complained about eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s poaching Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s employees.
eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) earlier this year agreed not to make such deals anymore.
“[…] The policy that prompted this lawsuit was acceptable and legal, and led to no anticompetitive effects in the talent market in which eBay competed,” the company was quoted by Reuters.
eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) is not the only company involved in a hiring scandal. Recently, other companies including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) could not make the settlement in a civil class action brought against them, as the judge rejected the proposed $324 million settlement as too small. The decision by the judge prompted Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shareholders to sue its management over the damages that the illegal practices caused the company.
Federal and state antitrust authorities sued eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) in 2012, while Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) had settled previously, the article concluded.
Carl Icahn of the Icahn Capital Lp is one of eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s largest shareholders as at the end of the second quarter of 2014, with the holdings valued at over $1,5 billion.
Disclosure: none
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