Silicon Valley class action judge tosses out feeble settlement offer

Speed Matters has been reporting on a large, class-action lawsuit against Silicon Valley employers for “... secretly and deliberately suppressing wages in the industry – by agreeing not to hire away workers from each other.”

In May, the four major defendants – Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe – offered a settlement of $324.5 million to the some 64,000 workers involved in the suit.

Last week, though, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh firmly rejected the settlement. The plaintiffs had been asking for $3 billion in damages, representing lost wages and fees – which had been artificially depressed due to the secret agreement among companies. If the defendants are convicted of antitrust violations, the payout could be as high as $9 billion. At the very least, the offer is about 11 percent of the asked-for damages.

In any case, Koh opined, “the court finds the total settlement amount falls below the range of reasonableness.” Koh pointed out that a separate 2013 settlement with three smaller defendants gave a good deal more per worker.

For a judge to dismiss a settlement offer is, as the San Francisco Chronicle said, “a highly unusual move in a class-action lawsuit.” But then, as the reporter noted, “nothing about this case has been particularly normal.”

Silicon Valley class action suit may net workers token damages (Speed Matters, May 14, 2014)

Judge Lucy Koh raises stakes in collusion case (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 11, 2014)