The Justice Department said Thursday that it has settled a lawsuit against eBay that accused the company of anticompetitive practices in the recruitment and hiring of skilled employees, according to Reuters.
The settlement resolves a 2012 lawsuit centered on eBay's agreement with the Intuit software company that prevented each firm from recruiting the other's employees, Reuters reported. That deal, entered into by top-level executives at both companies, was designed to limit competition between the two firms for highly specialized technology employees and denied workers the chance for better, higher-paying job opportunities, the government said.
"The behavior was blatant and egregious. And the agreements were fully documented in company electronic communications," Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, said in a conference call with reporters, according to Reuters.
The settlement, which requires court approval, would bar eBay from entering into or enforcing any agreement that restricts the recruitment or hiring of employees for the next five years, Reuters reported.
The e-commerce company also reached a separate settlement with the California attorney general, agreeing to pay a $3.75 million sum that includes civil penalties and restitution to Californians who worked at eBay or Intuit since 2005 and were affected by the actions, according to Reuters.
Intuit is not a defendant in the case because it is already subject to a similar Justice Department consent decree, Reuters reported.
EBay, which admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, said it still believes the policy that prompted this lawsuit was "acceptable and legal, and led to no anticompetitive effects in the talent market in which eBay competed," according to Reuters.
"EBay competes aggressively to attract and retain the best talent, while conforming to the hiring practices standards established by the Department of Justice in prior hiring-related cases against other companies," the company said in a written statement, Reuters reported.
