If a CPA has completed the in-house training program at one of 14 different competitor CPA firms,

Question:

If a CPA has completed the in-house training program at one of 14 different competitor CPA firms, Stonecutor and Company, CPAs will pay her a $20,000 signing bonus to switchover to working for Stonecutor.
a. Is Stonecutor and Company's policy ethical?
b. Would your answer be different if Stonecutter and Company, CPAs, simply paid a $20,000 to qualified candidates and, typically, the most qualified candidates happened to be CPAs who had worked for a major CPA firm and participated in their training programs?