Four of the world's biggest tech giants -Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe - have agreed to a new settlement of $415m in an attempt to resolve a lawsuit. The US lawsuit alleged the firms agreed not to poach staff from each other.
四家全球最大科技巨頭公司——蘋果、谷歌、英特爾和Adobe——已同意達(dá)成一項(xiàng)4.15億美元的新和解協(xié)議，以了結(jié)一起指控這些公司達(dá)成互不挖角協(xié)議的訴訟案。（英國廣播公司）
The 2011 US case had claimed $3bn in damages on behalf of more than 64,000 workers at the four firms. It claimed the alleged agreement prevented workers from getting better job offers elsewhere.
這起訴訟于2011年由四家公司逾64000名員工聯(lián)合提起，指控上述公司達(dá)成的協(xié)議阻止其員工另謀高就，造成了30億美元的損失。（英國廣播公司）
上述公司員工指控其雇主制定了“互不挖角”政策，其中包括了蘋果已故聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人喬布斯。他們?cè)谠V訟書中指出，通過“互不挖角”協(xié)議的簽署，這家公司成功地壓制了員工的工資，并且其人事部門擁有數(shù)不盡的“互不挖角”小計(jì)謀，如“不打電話”清單、不回復(fù)郵件清單以及內(nèi)部通訊錄。
The lawsuit, which was based largely on emails between some executives of the tech firms, has been watched with much interest for details about the alleged pact.According to some reports,one email exchange cited in the lawsuit shows Eric Schmidt, former chief executive of Google, telling Steve Jobs the former boss of Apple, that a Google recruiter who solicited an Apple employee would be fired.
這起訴訟案的主要取證根據(jù)是四家公司高管的郵件往來。外界對(duì)訴訟案中指控的不挖角協(xié)議的細(xì)節(jié)極為關(guān)注。根據(jù)部分報(bào)道，該訴案引用的其中一份郵件往來顯示，谷歌前首席執(zhí)行官艾瑞克·施密特告知蘋果前首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫·喬布斯，雇傭蘋果員工的谷歌職工將被解雇。（英國廣播公司）
The antitrust lawsuit alleges that by agreeing not to hire one another's employees,the tech companies were able to retain talent without paying higher wages.The four companies had reached a settlement agreement worth $324.5 million with the plaintiffs'lawyers early last year, but it was thrown out by the federal judge overseeing the case after one of the plaintiffs complained the figure was too low.
此次反壟斷調(diào)查指控上述科技公司聯(lián)合承諾不雇傭?qū)Ψ焦镜膯T工，因此在無須支付更高額薪水的前提下留住本公司員工。去年早些時(shí)候，這四家公司與原告律師團(tuán)達(dá)成了一項(xiàng)3.245億美元的和解協(xié)議，但后因其中一名原告控訴和解金額過低而被聯(lián)邦法官否決。（國際商業(yè)時(shí)報(bào)）
Under the new proposal, workers would receive an average of about $5,000, after attorneys’ fees. Awards will vary based on an employee’s total pay at one or more of the defendant companies during the period. Under the original proposal,the average award would have been less than $4,000, after attorneys’ fees. The new deal caps fees for the attorneys of the class at $81 million, or 25% of the prior settlement amount.
根據(jù)此次新的和解協(xié)議，在支付律師費(fèi)后，相關(guān)員工將平均得到約5000美元的賠償，具體賠償數(shù)額將依據(jù)受雇員工在指控其間于被告公司獲得的總收入而變化。根據(jù)原先的和解協(xié)議，在除去律師費(fèi)后員工獲得的平均賠償少于4000美元。此項(xiàng)新和解協(xié)議規(guī)定支付給訴訟律師的費(fèi)用上限為8100萬美元，約為此前協(xié)議的25%。（《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》）
In the filing, the companies denied wrongdoing. “We deny any allegations of wrongdoing and we elected to settle this matter to avoid the risks, burdens, and uncertainties of ongoing litigation,” said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel.
涉案公司在訴訟文件中否認(rèn)曾有違法行為。英特爾發(fā)言人查克·馬洛伊表示，“我們否認(rèn)任何關(guān)于違法行為的指控，并已決定解決此事，以規(guī)避風(fēng)險(xiǎn)、負(fù)擔(dān)和正在進(jìn)行的法律程序的不確定性。”（華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)）
The proposed settlement between the workers and Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. now must be approved by a U.S. District judge in San Jose, Calif. Without a new settlement, a trial in the case is scheduled to start on April 10.
此次四家公司與其員工的最新和解協(xié)議還需獲得美國加州圣何塞地方法官的批準(zhǔn)。若無此項(xiàng)最新和解協(xié)議，此案原定于4月10日開庭審判。（華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)）
