Justice Department Requires eBay to End Anticompetitive “No Poach” Hiring Agreements

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement with eBay that prevents the company from entering into or maintaining agreements with other companies restraining employee recruitment and hiring.

The department’s Antitrust Division filed the proposed settlement in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. If approved by the court, the settlement would resolve the department’s competitive concerns and the original lawsuit filed on Nov 16, 2012.

In its lawsuit, the department alleged that senior executives and directors of eBay and Intuit entered into an agreement, beginning no later than 2006, that prevented each firm from recruiting employees from the other and that prohibited eBay from hiring Intuit employees that approached eBay.

The agreement between eBay and Intuit diminished important competition between the firms to attract highly skilled technical and other employees to the detriment of affected employees who had less access to better job opportunities and higher pay. The proposed settlement would prohibit eBay from entering or maintaining anticompetitive agreements relating to employee hiring and retention for five years.