SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose has rejected the controversial $324.5 million settlement in the Silicon Valley “no-poach” case, echoing arguments by a named plaintiff and other critics that the dollar amount ought to be higher.

Koh wants $50 million more for plaintiffs who claimed their wages were driven down by agreements between Google Inc., Apple Inc., Adobe Systems Inc. and Intel Corp. not to recruit each other’s employees.