LG & Samsung face lawsuit over employee recruiting scandal

A former employee for LG Electronics has filed a suit against Samsung Electronics, claiming that both companies have an agreement that prevents them from recruiting each other’s Silicon Valley employees.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday by a former LG Sales Manager identified as A Frost, said that the agreement between the two companies was of the “highest levels”, which he learned through a recruiter in 2013. 

According to Frost, a recruiter seeking to fill a role at Samsung contacted him via LinkedIn in 2013. However, the recruiter later told Frost on the same day: “I made a mistake! I’m not supposed to poach LG for Samsung!!! Sorry! The two companies have an agreement that they won’t steal each other's employees.”

The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of all LG and Samsung employees in California – Wall Street Journal reports.