After the New Economy

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public," wrote Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, adding, "or in some contrivance to raise prices."

The New York Times reports "Tech Firms Said to Be in Talks to Settle Inquiry Over Recruiting."

SAN FRANCISCO -- A number of Silicon Valley companies including Apple, Google and Intel are in advanced negotiations with the Justice Department to avoid facing charges that they violated antitrust laws by agreeing not to poach employees from each other, according to two people briefed on the negotiations.

A settlement would end an investigation that began more than a year ago over concerns that such agreements would have the effect of holding down wages. While the talks are in advanced stages, they could still fall apart, as one or more companies may refuse to sign on to a settlement, said the people briefed on the talks, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.

The terms of any proposed settlement could not be learned.

The employment market in Silicon Valley is among the most competitive in the country, and job hopping of engineers and other employees among the companies under investigation, which also include Adobe Systems and Intuit, is common. The companies were being investigated over agreements not to recruit each other’s employees.

Representatives of Apple, Google, Intel and Intuit all declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

News of the settlement talks was first reported Friday in The Wall Street Journal.

The initial Justice Department investigation was broader, involving Microsoft and Yahoo. But both said that they were no longer part of the inquiry.

"Last year, following its investigation and detailed review of materials produced by it, Yahoo was advised by the department that it did not intend to bring a case against Yahoo," May Petry, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said in a statement. A Microsoft spokesman said that the company was not part of the investigation.

A settlement would avert a lawsuit that would be risky for all involved. To win its case, the Justice Department would have to show not only that the companies had agreements not to actively recruit each other’s workers, but also that those agreements held down wages.

The companies have privately argued that such agreements are necessary to allow them to collaborate without the risk of losing their best employees to one another. But that argument might not have prevailed in court, and a loss could have exposed them to further litigation.

The close ties between some of these companies, especially Google and Apple, have been the subject of other antitrust investigations in the last year.