Judge signals OK for new $415M settlement in workers' lawsuit against Apple, Google, others

A federal judge has tentatively approved a $415 million settlement in a major class action lawsuit by Silicon Valley workers who accused Apple Inc., Google Inc. and other tech companies of making an illegal agreement not to hire each other's employees.

Judge Lucy Koh had rejected an earlier settlement offer, saying it didn't offer enough compensation to about 64,000 workers affected by the case. She cited evidence of a corporate conspiracy to make it difficult for tech workers to negotiate better jobs at rival companies.

Koh said she was satisfied this week after the companies increased their earlier offer of $324.5 million. She invited final comments on the deal before she grants final approval at a hearing on June 9.

If Koh approves the latest settlement, it would avoid a potentially embarrassing trial for the companies

The lawsuit also included Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc.