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I don’t want to detract too much from this discussion, but I can provide insight into what kind of bullying company AmEx truly is, and how their ethos permeates

I don’t want to detract too much from this discussion, but I can provide insight into what kind of bullying company AmEx truly is, and how their ethos permeates throughout everything they do. I worked for AmEx for about 5 years. Everything was going great, and they announced a 5-month paternity leave program. I’m not going to lie, but it made it a lot easier to decide on having a child. Long story short, my son was born, I took paternity leave, and got laid off after 2 months into my paternity. I get that I’m an at will employee, which is what lawyers keep telling me. It’s true that large companies, not just tech companies exert a lot of power, especially when it comes to swaying what’s ethical and what’s not. That’s a whole separate discussion, but AmEx clearly used me to send a message- don’t act on our gesture... or else. Influencing future behavior is what AmEx is really good at. Not credit cards.

tyingq 9y ago
FWIW, I have had bad experiences with AMEX chargebacks. Even when it’s obvious their cardholder is committing fraud. There’s a sort of weird corporate swagger that says “yeah, so what?...we’re big, you aren't”. Lost a chargeback for non delivery when I had the cardholder’s signature on UPS paper.
- mehrdadn 9y ago
  (Oops, seems I misread the above comment, sorry about that. Yes, similar experience here, but from the cardholder side.)
  - GauntletWizard 9y ago
    It's the same as your experience. They're "Consumer" friendly, where the customer is the one who holds the credit card, not the one getting paid. They will act like dicks towards merchants because they would rather not face the possibility of consumer backlash, even in the face of obvious fraud.
    - matte_black 9y ago
      As a consumer though I kind of appreciate having that power over a merchant if they decide they want to fuck me over.
      - tyingq 9y ago
        It’s often the other way around, fwiw. I’ve lost several chargebacks that were obvious fraud.
      - jliptzin 9y ago
        Prices would be a little lower if merchants were not beholden to fraudsters.
        matte_black 9y ago
        No they wouldn’t and if they were they wouldn’t be significantly lower for me to care.
dominotw 9y ago
That sounds illegal somehow.
- throwaway8995 9y ago
  I’ve come to find out that it’s not illegal if they let you go for other reasons than taking paternity. Getting this to court is hella expensive and uncertain. So, it’s up to me to fight it and show that they let me go for paternity alone. It might be illegal, but the onus is on me.
  - sgw928 9y ago
    Have you gone to the NLRB yet, or is this not something NLRB covers?
    - throwaway8995 9y ago
      I haven’t looked into it. Thanks for the heads up. But, at this point, if lawyers are turning me down, idk what the NLRB can do
      - omegaworks 9y ago
        Start a GoFundMe, I'd happily donate to this cause. Parental leave is incredibly important.
      - dd36 9y ago
        Can you message me? I might be able to help. I work with some of the biggest attorney orgs for consumers and employees. dan(a)lpf.io
      - dd36 9y ago
        To add: I also was turned down by lawyers but because of an arbitration agreement. Then I found some help and we kicked a Big Bank’s ass. We’re building a community to help others do the same at levelplayingfield.io.
  - 9y ago
karmapolic 9y ago
will stop using there cards for just this reason from now on.
gowld 9y ago
Was that leave supposedly paid, or unpaid? If paid, it was likely a disability insurance policy, so paying you wouldn't even affect their bottom line.

tyingq 9y ago

FWIW, I have had bad experiences with AMEX chargebacks. Even when it’s obvious their cardholder is committing fraud. There’s a sort of weird corporate swagger that says “yeah, so what?...we’re big, you aren't”. Lost a chargeback for non delivery when I had the cardholder’s signature on UPS paper.

mehrdadn 9y ago
(Oops, seems I misread the above comment, sorry about that. Yes, similar experience here, but from the cardholder side.)
- GauntletWizard 9y ago
  It's the same as your experience. They're "Consumer" friendly, where the customer is the one who holds the credit card, not the one getting paid. They will act like dicks towards merchants because they would rather not face the possibility of consumer backlash, even in the face of obvious fraud.
  - matte_black 9y ago
    As a consumer though I kind of appreciate having that power over a merchant if they decide they want to fuck me over.
    - tyingq 9y ago
      It’s often the other way around, fwiw. I’ve lost several chargebacks that were obvious fraud.
    - jliptzin 9y ago
      Prices would be a little lower if merchants were not beholden to fraudsters.
      - matte_black 9y ago
        No they wouldn’t and if they were they wouldn’t be significantly lower for me to care.

dominotw 9y ago

That sounds illegal somehow.

throwaway8995 9y ago
I’ve come to find out that it’s not illegal if they let you go for other reasons than taking paternity. Getting this to court is hella expensive and uncertain. So, it’s up to me to fight it and show that they let me go for paternity alone. It might be illegal, but the onus is on me.
- sgw928 9y ago
  Have you gone to the NLRB yet, or is this not something NLRB covers?
  - throwaway8995 9y ago
    I haven’t looked into it. Thanks for the heads up. But, at this point, if lawyers are turning me down, idk what the NLRB can do
    - omegaworks 9y ago
      Start a GoFundMe, I'd happily donate to this cause. Parental leave is incredibly important.
    - dd36 9y ago
      Can you message me? I might be able to help. I work with some of the biggest attorney orgs for consumers and employees. dan(a)lpf.io
    - dd36 9y ago
      To add: I also was turned down by lawyers but because of an arbitration agreement. Then I found some help and we kicked a Big Bank’s ass. We’re building a community to help others do the same at levelplayingfield.io.
- 9y ago

karmapolic 9y ago

will stop using there cards for just this reason from now on.

gowld 9y ago

Was that leave supposedly paid, or unpaid? If paid, it was likely a disability insurance policy, so paying you wouldn't even affect their bottom line.