Apple, Google agree to pay $415 million to settle hiring conspiracy charges

Apple Inc. and Google Inc. agreed to a $415-million settlement over claims that they and other Silicon Valley companies conspired to avoid hiring each other’s employees, $90.5 million more than was in an accord that failed to win court approval four months ago.

The agreement, first disclosed Jan. 13 with no details on terms, requires the approval of U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose. In August, Koh rejected the initial $324.5-million accord on the grounds that it didn’t offer enough money for affected workers. Koh said the companies, which include Adobe Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., should pay at least $380 million given “ample evidence” of antitrust violations that might result in damages of more than $9 billion if the case went to trial.