The DoJ's action comes as no surprise. As The Reg has previously noted, top-flight Silicon Valley companies have long been reported to have entered into sub-rosa agreements to prevent the poaching of top-flight employees.
Or they've tried to. Palm, for example, reportedly declined an offer from Apple to enter into such an agreement. Google, on the other hand, had no such qualms — reports surfaced in mid-2009 that Mountain View had agreed to such a pact with Cupertino.
A DoJ investigation into the practice had long been rumored, and Friday the rumors shed their cloak of secrecy and became public.
Among the offending anticompetitive practices, as explained by the DoJ in its lawsuit, were the following:
* "Beginning no later than 2006, Apple and Google executives agreed not to cold call each other's employees. Apple placed Google on its internal 'Do Not Call List,' which instructed employees not to directly solicit employees from the listed companies. Similarly, Google listed Apple among the companies that had special agreements with Google and were part of the 'Do Not Cold Call' list.
* "Beginning no later than May 2005, senior Apple and Adobe executives agreed not to cold call each other’s employees. Apple placed Adobe on its internal 'Do Not Call List' and similarly, Adobe included Apple in its internal list of 'Companies that are off limits'.
* "Beginning no later than April 2007, Apple and Pixar executives agreed not to cold call each other's employees. Apple placed Pixar on its internal 'Do Not Call List' and senior executives at Pixar instructed human resources personnel to adhere to the agreement and maintain a paper trail.
* "Beginning no later than September 2007, Google and Intel executives agreed not to cold call each other's employees. In its hiring policies and protocol manual, Google listed Intel among the companies that have special agreements with Google and are part of the 'Do Not Cold Call' list. Similarly, Intel instructed its human resources staff about the existence of the agreement.
* "In June 2007, Google and Intuit executives agreed that Google would not cold call any Intuit employee. In its hiring policies and protocol manual, Google also listed Intuit among the companies that have special agreements with Google and are part of the 'Do Not Cold Call' list."
Read More @ The Register
