Apple, Google and Intel get sued for capping pay

SEVERAL TECHNOLOGY FIRMS including Apple, Google and Intel have been sued in a class action anti-trust case for allegedly fixing the salaries of their employees.

Siddharth Hariharan, a former software engineer at Lucasfilm hired the law firm Lieff Cabrasrer Heimann & Bernstein to bring the companies to court over entering into a "no soliticitation" agreement, which he claims broke US anti-trust laws and prevented many people from getting the pay they deserved.

The companies named in the lawsuit include Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm and Pixar, which are some of the biggest names in the technology and film industries.

There are three allegations in the lawsuit, focusing on an anti-competitive agreement to not actively recruit each other's staff, an agreement to notify a rival company when an offer was being made for its employee behind his or her back, and an agreement to cap the pay of staff.

"It's disappointing that, while we were working hard to make terrific products that resulted in enormous profits for Lucasfilm, senior executives of the company cut deals with other premiere high tech companies to eliminate competition and cap pay for skilled employees," said Hariharan.

It's likely that Google, at least, will claim it didn't cap employee pay, as it gave a 10 per cent pay rise last year, but if it entered into any kind of deal to prevent other companies from offering better positions to its staff then it will find it difficult to pretend that it has done nothing wrong.

The alleged misconduct by the companies is alleged to have occured between the years 2005 and 2009. A separate investigation of the defendants was launched by the US Department of Justice last year, resulting in the companies vowing to end the anti-competive agreements. No damages were awarded, however, which is why this class action lawsuit has been filed.

Hariharan is seeking compensation for lost income and wants treble damages to sanction the companies' alleged anti-competitive practices. His lawyer estimated that employee wages were reduced by as much as 10 or 15 per cent due to the alleged actions. He said that the companies involved must take responsibility for this. µ