谷歌苹果等四巨头4.15亿美元了结“互不挖角”案

　　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头公司——苹果、谷歌、英特尔和Adobe——已同意达成一项4.15亿美元的新和解协议，以了结一起指控这些公司达成互不挖角协议的诉讼案。（英国广播公司）

　　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.

　　这起诉讼于2011年由四家公司逾64000名员工联合提起，指控上述公司达成的协议阻止其员工另谋高就，造成了30亿美元的损失。（英国广播公司）

　　上述公司员工指控其雇主制定了“互不挖角”政策，其中包括了苹果已故联合创始人乔布斯。他们在诉讼书中指出，通过“互不挖角”协议的签署，这家公司成功地压制了员工的工资，并且其人事部门拥有数不尽的“互不挖角”小计谋，如“不打电话”清单、不回复邮件清单以及内部通讯录。

　　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.

　　这起诉讼案的主要取证根据是四家公司高管的邮件往来。外界对诉讼案中指控的不挖角协议的细节极为关注。根据部分报道，该诉案引用的其中一份邮件往来显示，谷歌前首席执行官艾瑞克·施密特告知苹果前首席执行官史蒂夫·乔布斯，雇佣苹果员工的谷歌职工将被解雇。（英国广播公司）

　　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.

　　此次反垄断调查指控上述科技公司联合承诺不雇佣对方公司的员工，因此在无须支付更高额薪水的前提下留住本公司员工。去年早些时候，这四家公司与原告律师团达成了一项3.245亿美元的和解协议，但后因其中一名原告控诉和解金额过低而被联邦法官否决。（国际商业时报）

　　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.

　　根据此次新的和解协议，在支付律师费后，相关员工将平均得到约5000美元的赔偿，具体赔偿数额将依据受雇员工在指控其间于被告公司获得的总收入而变化。根据原先的和解协议，在除去律师费后员工获得的平均赔偿少于4000美元。此项新和解协议规定支付给诉讼律师的费用上限为8100万美元，约为此前协议的25%。（《华尔街日报》）

　　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.

　　涉案公司在诉讼文件中否认曾有违法行为。英特尔发言人查克·马洛伊表示，“我们否认任何关于违法行为的指控，并已决定解决此事，以规避风险、负担和正在进行的法律程序的不确定性。”（华尔街日报）

　　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.

　　此次四家公司与其员工的最新和解协议还需获得美国加州圣何塞地方法官的批准。若无此项最新和解协议，此案原定于4月10日开庭审判。（华尔街日报）

　　（廖冰清 编译）