Ebay Sued over Recruiting Agreement with Intuit

Two companies allegedly had deal not to hire each others' employees

EBay Inc., the world's largest online marketplace, was accused by the U.S. of violating antitrust laws by agreeing not to hire people working for Intuit Inc.

Senior executives at EBay and Intuit struck "evolving handshake" accords from 2006 to 2009 to restrict recruiting and hiring each others' workers, according to a complaint by the U.S. Justice Department filed today in federal court in San Jose, California.

"This agreement harmed employees by lowering the salaries and benefits they might otherwise have commanded, and deprived these employees of better job opportunities at the other company," according to the complaint.