Judge Edward Davila

A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved a settlement between federal antitrust authorities and eBay over allegations that eBay agreed to refrain from soliciting a rival company's employees. Under the deal, announced earlier this year, eBay said it wouldn't make deals with other technology companies about poaching each others' employees. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila approved eBay's agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a brief order. Hiring in Silicon Valley has been increasingly scrutinized. Six companies, including Apple and Google, settled with federal authorities in 2010 over nonsolicitation deals, without paying money.