Top executives of leading tech companies secretly agreed among themselves not to hire each other’s employees, thereby restricting wages and job opportunities of the very people to whom they owed their success.
Government investigators discovered the conspiracy and brought charges against the companies, using antitrust law to protect labor rights.
28 min film | 3 short videos
“WE CANNOT GET INTO A BIDDING WAR WITH OTHER COMPANIES
BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE THE MARGINS FOR THAT SORT OF THING.”
“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”
Changing jobs is a common path to seek better pay and professional advancement. But this time-honored free market practice was secretly inhibited by top Silicon Valley tech executives who colluded through "no-poach" agreements that suppressed the wages and opportunities of their employees.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the California Attorney General’s office undertook legal action against Apple, Adobe, Intel, eBay, Pixar, Intuit, and Lucasfilm in a unique application of antitrust law in defense of labor rights.
A separate class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of 64,000 tech workers for an estimated $3 billion in lost wages. Before the case went to trial, the companies settled for a total of $435 million.
When Rules Don't Apply is a multi-media campaign to educate the public about the impact of "no-poach" agreements and how they limit competition and employee wages, a violation of antitrust law.
Hosted by Rachael Myrow and Veena Dubal.
Produced by Filmmakers Collaborative.
