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Bloomberg
International Business Machines Corp. is moving towards settling non-competition claims against its former chief diversity officer and allowing her to take on a temporarily limited role at rival Microsoft Corp.
Lawyers for the company and the former IBM executive, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, met in a federal court in White Plains, New York, to hash out a possible deal through mediation talks with US Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison. The lawyers declined to comment on the progress of the talks, which took place over five hours in the judge’s chambers.
“We have moved the ball a little bit and we’re hopeful you can help us move it further,†Robert Atkins, an attorney for IBM, told the judge before the talks began. He said that a draft of an agreement had been sent to McIntyre.
Issues with the agreement include the “the length of time she might have to sit out from full responsibilities†and whether she can be in “listen and learn mode†for a time in her Microsoft job, McIntyre’s attorney, Michael Delikat said. There is also disagreement over equity and other money IBM wants to claw back as part of the deal, he said.
The lawsuit cast light on both companies’ use of non-competition agreements to keep employees from leaving for rivals.