According to the lawsuit, the government alleges that the CEO of eBay and the founder of Intuit Inc were involved in forming, monitoring and enforcing an anticompetitive agreement. The lawsuit states that the agreement was in place from 2006 to 2009.

While Intuit's founder was on eBay's board of directors, he was also making complaints about eBay's recruitment of Intuit employees. The lawsuit alleges this is when the two companies decided to make the anticompetitive agreements

The assistant attorney general said that eBay's agreement with Intuit lowered salaries and benefits to employees and did not allow employees the opportunity to receive better job offers at the other company. The Justice Department said that they have always believed these types of agreements were unlawful under federal antitrust laws and that is why they are pursuing legal action against these two companies.

The Justice Department is seeking to prevent eBay from enforcing the agreement as well as prevent them from making similar agreements with other companies in the future. Intuit Inc. is already facing settlement action, which bars them from making these types of agreements in the future.

Non-compete agreements can be difficult to create and manage. It is best for companies to work with a business law firm when drafting and enforcing non-compete agreements to ensure best practices are being followed.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Government sues eBay over noncompetition agreement," Nov. 16, 2012