CALIFORNIA — The U.S. Department of Justice stopped eBay Inc from concocting agreements with other companies that restrain employee recruitment and hiring, federal officials announced Thursday.
The department’s Antitrust Division filed the proposed settlement in the U.S. District Court in San Jose.
In its lawsuit filed in 2012, the department alleged that senior executives and directors of eBay and Intuit entered into an agreement, beginning no later than 2006, that prevented each firm from recruiting employees from the other and that prohibited eBay from hiring Intuit employees that approached eBay.
The agreement between eBay and Intuit diminished important competition between the firms to attract highly skilled technical and other employees to the detriment of affected employees who had less access to better job opportunities and higher pay, officials said.
“eBay’s agreement with Intuit served no purpose but to limit competition between the two firms for employees, distorting the labor market and causing employees to lose opportunities for better jobs and higher pay,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The proposed settlement resolves the department’s antitrust concerns and ensures that eBay will not engage in similar conduct in the future.”
This case and the proposed settlement arose out of a series of Antitrust Division investigations into employee recruitment practices at a number of high tech companies:
- In September 2010, the Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against six high tech firms– Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corporation, Intuit Inc. and Pixar–for antitrust violations arising from “no cold call” agreements, prosecutors said.
- In December 2010, the Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Lucasfilm Ltd. alleging antitrust violations involving similar activities restraining competition for employees.
- In both cases, settlements were filed at the same time the lawsuits were filed resolving the department’s competitive concerns.
Thursday’s proposed settlement with eBay is substantially the same as the court-approved settlements in the two prior cases.
eBay Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in San Jose, Calif.