Documents in a lawsuit filed against seven tech giants, including Google, Pixar and Apple, have revealed that dozens more companies, with a combined workforce of over one million people, also made secret deals as part of a "wage-fixing cartel." The agreements allegedly restricted companies from hiring each other’s employees, thereby unfairly suppressing worker mobility and pay. The scheme was made public during a Department of Justice investigation into the "Techtopus"--the agreement between the original companies--that has since been settled, forcing the original seven to "curb their restricting hiring deals."
PandoDaily reports:
Confidential internal Google and Apple memos … clearly show that what began as a secret cartel agreement between Apple’s Steve Jobs and Google’s Eric Schmidt to illegally fix the labor market for hi-tech workers, expanded within a few years to include companies ranging from Dell, IBM, eBay and Microsoft, to Comcast, Clear Channel, Dreamworks, and London-based public relations behemoth WPP.
The DOJ investigation that brought to light the damning information about the "Techtopus" deal has led employees to file a class action suit. Proceedings for the suit, which only names the initial seven tech companies as defendants, are set to begin May 27th.
Alex Kogan is a Spring 2014 editorial intern.
