Very interesting article. I have first-hand experience with these secret agreements when I switched jobs once and hope this lawsuit puts an end to the practice.
This isn't an engineering company issue. It's national and widespread in most areas of employment. In this area for instance, the last big union factories closed down a while ago. Cheaper labor overseas. The few small factories left all pay the same wage, 1 to 2 dollars over minimum. Minimal benefits. You're treated like slave labor. They all hire through temp agencies at even lower wages. They're all "at will" employers, meaning they can fire you for any or no reason at any time. This the long term results of using cheaper overseas labor. In order to compete, the domestic jobs will become like them in wages, benefits, and working conditions.
There are definitely more big Silicon Valley companies engaged in this illegal behavior than are mentioned in either article.
Apple and Google appeal, refuse to pay more than $325M in “no poach” case eBay promises US gov’t: No more “no poach” deals
