• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Tech workers will get average of $5,770 under final anti-poaching settlement

By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 3, 2015, 10:40 AM ET
Google Moves Into New Washington Campus
Google employees and contractors in the cafeteria of the company's Kirkland, Washington office in 2009.Stephen Brashear—Getty Images

An illegal plot among Silicon Valley companies, including Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG), to suppress engineers’ wages produced a drawn-out court fight over how much the employees should get in compensation—and how much the lawyers representing them should be able to collect from that amount. Now, the numbers are finally official.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh approved a deal in which Apple, Google, Intel (INTC), and Adobe (ADBE) will pay $415 million for their role in the pact, which involved senior executives like the late Steve Jobs creating “no-poach” lists. The lists were part of a scheme whereby companies agreed not to recruit each others’ employees.

While the companies reached an initial settlement of $324.5 million last year, Koh threw it out on the grounds that it was too low, and handed too much of the award to lawyers. Court documents show the revised arrangement provides “$40,822,311.75 (or 9.8%)” in attorney fees plus additional expenses to the law firms in the case.

The final result is that the approximately 64,466 workers affected by the poaching scheme will collect about $5,770 each on average, according to Koh’s ruling.

In deciding to approve the deal, the judge also declared it fair in light of the low level of objections.

“Out of 64,466 Class Members, only 11 submitted objections (about .017 percent of the Class, or about one in every 5,860 Class Members) …In addition, only 56 Class Members have opted out of the Settlement (less than .09 percent of the Class),” Koh wrote.

The settlement comes after a similar one involving collusion between Intuit (INTU), Lucasfilm, and Pixar, which led those companies to pay $20 million in 2013.

The fact that the companies resorted to such conspiracies reflects the high-stakes war for talent in Silicon Valley, where companies struggle to retain top engineers. Unlike other states, California does not allow “non-compete” clauses, which means its easier for tech talent to move from firm to firm. As a result, tech companies often resort to other tactics like non-disclosure agreements and patent lawsuits in an effort to ward off talent raids.

See a copy of Judge Koh’s final order further below:

Correction: this post was updated at 3:30pm ET. An earlier version misstated the number of workers affected by the scheme.

Koh Anti-poaching Order by jeff_roberts881

For more Fortune coverage, check out this video:

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

About the Author
By Jeff John RobertsEditor, Finance and Crypto
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jeff John Roberts is the Finance and Crypto editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of the blockchain and how technology is changing finance.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
An unusual Fed ‘rate check’ triggered a free fall in the U.S. dollar and investors are fleeing into gold
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 26, 2026
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Trump was surging after the Venezuela raid—then came Jerome Powell, Greenland, and Minnesota. Now it feels like a ‘historic hinge moment’
By Jason MaJanuary 25, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Gates Foundation plans to give away $9 billion in 2026 to prepare for the 2045 closure while slashing hundreds of jobs
By Sydney LakeJanuary 23, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Sweden abolished its wealth tax 20 years ago. Then it became a 'paradise for the super-rich'
By Miranda Sheild Johansson and The ConversationJanuary 22, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Minnesota-based CEOs, including Fortune 500 bosses, call for ‘immediate de-escalation of tensions’ after fatal shooting
By Jason MaJanuary 25, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
'The Bermuda Triangle of Talent': 27-year-old Oxford grad turned down McKinsey and Morgan Stanley to find out why Gen Z’s smartest keep selling out
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

markets
InvestingMarkets
S&P 500 wins back all losses from Greenland dip, gold and silver surge even higher
By Stan Choe and The Associated PressJanuary 26, 2026
4 minutes ago
PoliticsBillionaires
Billionaire Tom Steyer says he’d vote for California wealth tax
By Eliyahu Kamisher and BloombergJanuary 26, 2026
2 hours ago
Palantir CEO Alex Karp during an interview at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
InnovationImmigration
Palantir/ICE connections draw fire as questions raised about tool tracking Medicaid data to find people to arrest
By Tristan BoveJanuary 26, 2026
4 hours ago
AIHiring
Job seekers are suing an AI hiring tool used by Microsoft and Paypal for allegedly compiling secretive reports that help employers screen candidates
By Patrick Kulp and Tech BrewJanuary 26, 2026
4 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Why two Gen Z college dropouts are combatting financial nihilism with a credit card startup
By Leo SchwartzJanuary 26, 2026
11 hours ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Meta abruptly halts teen access to its AI characters
By Alexei OreskovicJanuary 26, 2026
12 hours ago