From the NYT:
SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley is holding on tight to its wallet.
Last month, a federal judge ordered four leading tech companies to come up with more money to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses them of conspiring against their own employees. But on Thursday, the companies challenged the ruling, saying the judge was “untethered to — and actually at odds with” the sober realities of the case. They are demanding that a higher court set her straight.
The companies — Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe — filed court papers asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reject Judge Lucy H. Koh’s highly unusual rejection of their $324.5 million antitrust settlement as too meager. The firms said the judge was committing a “clear legal error” in a case that offers a vivid view of the valley that is at odds with its carefully orchestrated public relations.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court in San Jose, is prompting many questions: When do the chummy relationships among tech titans become illegal collusion? Is it possible that software engineers, usually seen as one of the most privileged groups of workers, can be held back economically? Just because companies have billions upon billions in the bank, should that obligate them to provide richer settlements?
Here’s the entire story: Silicon Valley Fights Order to Pay Bigger Settlement in Hiring Case – NYTimes.com.