e-mails were released as part of an antipoaching lawsuit (wage supression/wage theft); Apple, Google and others settled.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-google-others-...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-google-lawsuit-idUS...

Even by then most of those same companies had already settle another case that included ending those agreements:

https://www.cnet.com/culture/doj-settles-no-recruit-claims-a...

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-requires-s...

I’m not sure how the laws work but from reading that justice.gov link, anti poaching agreements are illegal and are actually enforceable, right?

And that is in the infamous anti-worker US; though I think you meant unenforceable (the companies wouldn't be able to use the legal system to enforce them)

In the rest of the world Steve Jobs / Apple would have been in a bigger trouble just from the start of the emails.

The US is far from the worst. It typically rates behind European nations and ahead of much of Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.

Here’s one recent comprehensive labor report, for example. https://files.mutualcdn.com/ituc/files/2022-ITUC-Rights-Inde...

"We have better protection laws that some regimes and 3rd world countries!"

Fine print: Said regimes may or may not have been the result of us sending military and weapons to kill any and all possible human rights movements and keep slave labor going.

There was no implied commentary on my part, just a friendly push back on light eurocentrism.

I'm from LATAM.

Well, you’ve really no excuse then. :)