4 ms·

Don't do this. Company lawyers are there to protect the company. This is the fastest way to get into trouble. If you are going to seek legal advice then make su

Don't do this. Company lawyers are there to protect the company. This is the fastest way to get into trouble. If you are going to seek legal advice then make sure it is as far away from the company as possible.

skybrian 10y ago
I think I made that distinction. If you're talking to the company's lawyers it's because it's not personal - you're just trying to help the company.
- dkarapetyan 10y ago
  Even when you make a distinction to help the company. It only works if the whistleblower is high enough and has the backing of the rest of the leadership. If a regular employee does this the best outcome is they get fired the worst outcome is it turns into a drawn out court battle and the employee loses. It is the same with HR. HR is not there to protect employees. HR is there to protect the company and the easiest way to do that is to get rid of troublemaking employees even if they are making a valid case.
  - skybrian 10y ago
    I don't know how it works at other companies, but at least at some places, the in-house lawyers are a resource that employees can use to get business-related legal questions answered. Yes, they're on the company's side, but that doesn't mean they'll consider you a "whistleblower" or a "troublemaker" for asking a few questions. Seems like you're making this into a company-versus-employee dispute when it hasn't reached that stage yet. And better to avoid turning it into that.
    - dkarapetyan 10y ago
      From the author's tone it is pretty clear this is a pervasive problem. It is highly unlikely company lawyers are not aware. In fact they most likely were consulted for the exact same things the author is concerned about. It is naive and borderline stupid to think you can innocently bring up the issue by asking questions and not face any negative repercussions.
      - skybrian 10y ago
        In that case it should be an easy question to answer. "You've probably considered this already, but I was wondering about the legal issues around [...]. Is there anything we need to worry about here?" If nobody is willing to consult the lawyers about their area of expertise, why have them?
        dkarapetyan 10y ago
        I don't think I'm getting through to you. In the interest of self preservation the author should stay as far away from company lawyers and HR as possible. In fact if you are facing a moral or ethical dilemma then no company resource will be of any use. Company resources will actively hinder you. I will repeat, it is naive to think otherwise.
        skybrian 10y ago
        I'm not sure what you mean by "self-preservation". If you mean keeping your job - well, other posters have suggested quitting. If just talking to people gets you fired, you probably don't want to work there anyway. Of course, that assumes a certain level of privilege. For someone who can't afford to quit and find another job, things are different.
- Spooky23 10y ago
  No way. If you talk to an attorney who isn't paid by you and bound by privilege to you (ie corporate counsel) to address a problem that you have, you now have two problems.
M2Ys4U 10y ago
If you're a member of a trade union (and if not, why not?) then the union will probably have legal services that you can access.

skybrian 10y ago

I think I made that distinction. If you're talking to the company's lawyers it's because it's not personal - you're just trying to help the company.

dkarapetyan 10y ago
Even when you make a distinction to help the company. It only works if the whistleblower is high enough and has the backing of the rest of the leadership. If a regular employee does this the best outcome is they get fired the worst outcome is it turns into a drawn out court battle and the employee loses. It is the same with HR. HR is not there to protect employees. HR is there to protect the company and the easiest way to do that is to get rid of troublemaking employees even if they are making a valid case.
- skybrian 10y ago
  I don't know how it works at other companies, but at least at some places, the in-house lawyers are a resource that employees can use to get business-related legal questions answered. Yes, they're on the company's side, but that doesn't mean they'll consider you a "whistleblower" or a "troublemaker" for asking a few questions. Seems like you're making this into a company-versus-employee dispute when it hasn't reached that stage yet. And better to avoid turning it into that.
  - dkarapetyan 10y ago
    From the author's tone it is pretty clear this is a pervasive problem. It is highly unlikely company lawyers are not aware. In fact they most likely were consulted for the exact same things the author is concerned about. It is naive and borderline stupid to think you can innocently bring up the issue by asking questions and not face any negative repercussions.
    - skybrian 10y ago
      In that case it should be an easy question to answer. "You've probably considered this already, but I was wondering about the legal issues around [...]. Is there anything we need to worry about here?" If nobody is willing to consult the lawyers about their area of expertise, why have them?
      - dkarapetyan 10y ago
        I don't think I'm getting through to you. In the interest of self preservation the author should stay as far away from company lawyers and HR as possible. In fact if you are facing a moral or ethical dilemma then no company resource will be of any use. Company resources will actively hinder you. I will repeat, it is naive to think otherwise.
        skybrian 10y ago
        I'm not sure what you mean by "self-preservation". If you mean keeping your job - well, other posters have suggested quitting. If just talking to people gets you fired, you probably don't want to work there anyway. Of course, that assumes a certain level of privilege. For someone who can't afford to quit and find another job, things are different.
Spooky23 10y ago
No way. If you talk to an attorney who isn't paid by you and bound by privilege to you (ie corporate counsel) to address a problem that you have, you now have two problems.

M2Ys4U 10y ago

If you're a member of a trade union (and if not, why not?) then the union will probably have legal services that you can access.