The National Labor Relations Board has clarified that non-disparagement clauses attached to severance packages are null and void. Companies will not be able to stifle criticism by ex-employees through clauses asking them to waive their inherent rights.
The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board issued a clarifying memo on Wednesday regarding the "scope" of a February ruling by the federal agency's board that said employers cannot include blanket non-disparagement clauses in their severance packages, nor demand laid-off employees keep secret the terms of their exit agreements.
Such provisions have become increasingly common in recent years, muzzling employees and otherwise stopping them from speaking up about working conditions by dangling a few weeks or months of pay in front of them at the exact moment they are losing their job.
This is a follow up to last month's statment and could prove significant for some employers with a high rate of turn over and decades of in-house dirt. *cough*m$*cough*
(Score: 2, Troll) by Opportunist on Sunday March 26 2023, @10:18AM (5 children)
Cough up some dough and we talk. The exact sum is dependent on the amount and stink of the dirt.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday March 26 2023, @11:50AM (2 children)
I was handed one of these "secret" (you shall not reveal the existence of this contract) non disparagement etc. severance rags. Nothing was offered in exchange for signing, so it wasn't a contract in the first place. Didn't want to come back to that or any related company if they should ever get their shit together enough to pay employees again, so I didn't sign.
No point in naming the company, they did pick up operations eventually and stagger along for a couple of years before a competitor (falsely, AFAIK) maligned them in court and won judgement taking their remaining stock and customers. Not that they didn't deserve such a fate, but the charges outlined in the newspaper summary of the case were B.S.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Sunday March 26 2023, @02:02PM (1 child)
I have never been asked to sign something like that, but if anything, they'd have gotten a signature from Franklin Underberg (or whatever else can be initialized to F U).
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday March 26 2023, @02:32PM
Was presented to me by the company president as "the investors said I need to get everyone to sign this, it's for our mutual protection." Nothing in the verbiage could even slightly be construed as beneficial or protective of me.
It was a good sign to walk away. The company I walked to was good for me at the moment but it too gave "walk away" signs which I heeded. Both were defunct long before the pandemic.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Frosty Piss on Sunday March 26 2023, @04:38PM (1 child)
That is what's known as "extortion" and will land you in jail.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Opportunist on Sunday March 26 2023, @10:14PM
It would be extortion if it was something illegal, in which case I MUST report it anyway or I'll be liable as an accomplice.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 26 2023, @11:33AM (1 child)
Non disclosure agreements can take the place of non disparagement, really easily. NDAs need to be extremely limited in their scope, or little is going to change except the language of the NDA.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday March 26 2023, @11:52AM
NDAs are much more limited in their legal scope than they are frequently written. Unfortunately, it is expensive to get that clarified in court, and when you are laid off, spare cash isn't usually the most abundant thing on hand, though free time is...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by rpnx on Sunday March 26 2023, @05:31PM (3 children)
Former Microsoft employee here. Work environment was disorganized and chaotic. Don't recommend it unless you can earn $250k+. They paid better than local companies but much worse than other "big tech" like Apple, Google, Netflix, etc. The one thing I will say they did really wrong at Microsoft was not matching the job description. I made it pretty clear I wanted to work in C++/Linux systems and it ended up being much more varied than that. Though I am somewhat grateful, as I don't know if I would have landed my job at Google without Microsoft on my resume. I still feel like I do not have much room to "stretch wings" anywhere I go though, which has seemingly gotten worse as I moved up. Oh well.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday March 26 2023, @06:34PM
Work is a four letter word for many reasons.
Paid work is two in a row.
Need paid work is the trifecta, do not expect to follow your dreams if you need paid work.
On the other hand, there are worse things you can be doing to earn six figures, particularly as a remote employee...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday March 26 2023, @08:33PM
Some years ago I worked at a "systems integrator"- much too generic like most such titles. They did manufacturing process control (PLC / SCADA) systems, and for most top "Fortune 50" companies. Maybe 40-50 engineers / programmers or so. The engineering manager was an older gentleman (I'm okay with wisdom and experience) and was a descendant of Eli Whitney [wikipedia.org], and as such got some probably undeserved recognition. He seemed a bit "senile" though.
One day he brings a new employee around to meet everyone, and introduces the guy as a C/Unix programmer. I remember sensing the guy was feeling very uncomfortable. Chatting with him a couple of days later I find out he had never done any C or *nix. I forget his background. He disappeared a few days later.
That said, a year or so later I sent a resume to a "blind" ad that simply said they wanted a phd math modeling scientist. I am anything but, but they liked other things on my resume, including IT, and decided they already had a great person on staff to do the high-level stuff, and move the lower stuff and IT stuff onto me, and it all worked out very well.
Career-wise I have never gotten to do the things I wanted to do, but I do some on my own, and have some ideas / plans / hopes for some interesting projects. As I've ranted about here and other sites, I blame HR. To be sure, there are some really great ones out there, but most are clueless, but still making decisions, firmly, arrogantly, about people and skills they have literally no clue about.
My biggest complaint: they'll select based on presentation skills. Well, sorry HR, but some of the brightest people I know, who your tech teams would want, will fail on every level of presentation skills. I can hear the arguments now, but I'll stand firm- well-managed teams don't need everyone to be a great PR / presenter. At all. Note: I said "well managed".
I'm in the process of trying to find a career counselor / resume writer to understand my skills and be my PR agent...
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday March 26 2023, @08:38PM
PS: pretty much stating the obvious, but your and my experiences are a big factor in people starting their own companies. Seymour Cray is a great example that comes to mind, and there are tons more. Tesla and Westinghouse...
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday March 27 2023, @04:21PM
I'd interpret this as a signal they're going to use social media datamining, censorship, and chilling effects in general to obtain more effective results than a formal contract.
Overall probably not good news. Better to know a rat when you see it than to put up with behind the scenes stuff.