Joseph Saveri was interviewed for and is featured in a new documentary, released today, regarding successful antitrust legal actions brought against Google, Apple, eBay, and other major technology companies.
When Rules Don’t Apply explores the “no-poach” wage suppression conspiracy that swept Silicon Valley from 2005 to 2015, and the precedent-setting legal battles that challenged these practices. The industry-wide conspiracy involved leading tech CEOs, including Apple’s Steve Jobs and Google’s Eric Schmidt, who secretly agreed not to recruit one another’s employees, thus restricting employee job opportunities and limiting their wages.
As the 28-minute film (viewable below) shows, the U.S. Department of Justice applied antitrust law in 2009 for the first time on behalf of labor to prosecute the companies involved for their anticompetitive practices. The Joseph Saveri Law Firm served as Co-Lead Class Counsel for a class of over 64,000 employees of leading technology companies against their employers for an estimated $3 billion in lost wage due to their alleged agreements to restrict recruiting to suppress wages. Three Defendants agreed to settlements, now finalized, totaling $20 million. Following the Court’s denial of their motions for summary judgment, the remaining Defendants agreed to a 2014 settlement totaling $415 million, which has also received final approval.
Commissioned and funded by the California Attorney General’s office, When Rules Don’t Apply features a dozen leading experts in the field of antitrust and labor law, including participants in the legal actions. The film is co-hosted by Rachael Myrow, veteran Silicon Valley journalist, and Veena Dubal, Associate Professor of Law at UC Hastings. The film is “an engaging look at how Apple, Google, and other tech companies in Silicon Valley conspired against their own workers, and got busted,” said Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor.
When Rules Don’t Apply is produced and directed by David Donnenfield and Kevin White of Filmmakers Collaborative SF. Donnenfield and White have won numerous awards for their films, including Emmys and CINE Golden Eagles. Their films have been broadcast on PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, Bravo and ABC.
Film interviewees include: Gene Kimmelman, former Chief Counsel, US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division; Ro Khanna, California Member of Congress, 17th District; Franklin Foer, Author and Journalist; Ed Colligan, former CEO Palm, Inc.; Barry Lynn, Executive Director, Open Markets Institute; Neil Haran, Class Action Plaintiff; and AnnaLee Saxenian, Dean, UC Berkeley School of Information.
Produced by Filmmakers Collaborative SF, the full film and three video shorts are available to view free on the project website – www.whenrulesdontapply.com. A DVD and download of the film and video shorts are available for purchase. The website also includes in-depth resources on the legal cases, antitrust law, and links to relevant organizations and agencies. A downloadable study/discussion guide will also be available.