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> He added that management quickly finds reasons to fire employees who tout their efforts to form a union and those who are fired are pushed to sign non-disclos

> He added that management quickly finds reasons to fire employees who tout their efforts to form a union and those who are fired are pushed to sign non-disclosure agreements before receiving their last paycheck. I’d hope this is just a misunderstanding of the facts or something, because wow that last part’s just horrifying.

ABCLAW 8y ago
This is fairly common. Most severance payments are settlements, of which the first offer is made by the company. Employees can refuse the settlement, then sue their former employer under various wrongful dismissal/common law severance heads, but that requires getting a lawyer, and lawyers are generally more expensive than the few extra months of wages you'll get back. The cost of getting justice is used to scalp workers for a month or two of earnings all the time. ... Unless you were sexually assaulted and offered peanuts, or recorded your immediate supervisor threatening you with physical harm or something. Then lawyering up pays off.
- fisherjeff 8y ago
  I’m hoping that’s the misunderstanding: Severance != last paycheck.
- pasbesoin 8y ago
  When/as more and more employees are paid to / held to a standard that keeps them a paycheck or two from insolvency, these mandated non-disclosure/-disparagement/-right-to-sue agreement, in return for severance pay/benefits, have taken on increasing pressure and importance. People in "the tech world" may not experience nor realize the immediate existential threat many people live under, with a job loss. These become another way in which "corporate America" is essentially stifling free speech and individuals' rights. Corporations lobbied heavily to be able to spend unlimited amounts in political campaigns. But, they won't let their workers say a word -- not even about their own direct life experiences.
danharaj 8y ago
Wage theft in the US is measured in billions of dollars per year. Imagine what other abuses that aren't so flagrant and easy to quantify proliferate.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  How is that relevant? Nobody is accusing Tesla of systematically playing games with the books to deny people compensation they are owed (they're accusing Tesla of other unethical practices). edit: Never mind. Either I misread or you edited your comment to add the second sentence.
  - danharaj 8y ago
    The implication was that management was using a worker's final paycheck as leverage to pressure them into signing an NDA. That's using wage theft as a threat.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    I thought that's exactly what the accusation was: witholding the last pay packet until the agreement was signed. This isn't the same as the more respectable practice of extra redundancy payments that are conditional on signing a no-sue agreement.
Anderkent 8y ago
A bonus payment if you sign an NDA on departure seems pretty common.
pjc50 8y ago
Disappointing, but not surprising. Once a company decides that their workers are the enemy rather than an asset or part of the team, this kind of thing creeps in anywhere. Like Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers. Ford at least planned for his workers to be able to buy his cars, but that's clearly going to be further away on the Tesla roadmap than a trip to Mars.
- DINKDINK 8y ago
  >Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers To protect the safety of your workers, you do not want someone who is high/impaired operating machinery that can kill them or others. If you've been in an industrial factory or seen videos of factory deaths, you know how serious such a threat can be. I wouldn't be surprised if the worker testing was part of their insurance contract.
  - dec0dedab0de 8y ago
    >Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers To protect the safety of your workers, you do not want someone who is high/impaired operating machinery... Drug tests can't tell if you are currently intoxicated. It's not like a breathalyzer. I doubt they would make a rule that says you can't have a drink after work.
    - FireBeyond 8y ago
      I went, as a firefighter, to a fire at a legal marijuana grow op. Just a small little thing, but approximately 1 1/2 lb of product was caught up in the fire. I was advised as the officer to fill out an exposure report. Why worry, I thought - yes, we could smell it, strongly, yes, there was some smoke, etc., but for the most part, nice and funny as a story. Our Medical Services Officer reminded me that THC stays in the system for quite a while. And for those volunteers, this would be a record that would protect them if they got tested in their day job, saying that it was an "exposure", not something else.
dec0dedab0de 8y ago
I think the entire practice of exit interviews should be outlawed. Perhaps replaced with an optional post-exit interview that takes place after the final payment has been received, and that comes with compensation of it's own.
ddingus 8y ago
Totally common. You get a non toxic reference, money, and agree to STFU. Last pay due is unconditional, barring any financial agreement and balance in play. No, this is hush money being tied to being quiet, often framed as road money.
masonic 8y ago
pushed to sign non-disclosure agreements before receiving their last paycheck Illegal in CA, at least. I suspect they are conflating a severance with the paycheck.

ABCLAW 8y ago

This is fairly common. Most severance payments are settlements, of which the first offer is made by the company. Employees can refuse the settlement, then sue their former employer under various wrongful dismissal/common law severance heads, but that requires getting a lawyer, and lawyers are generally more expensive than the few extra months of wages you'll get back. The cost of getting justice is used to scalp workers for a month or two of earnings all the time. ... Unless you were sexually assaulted and offered peanuts, or recorded your immediate supervisor threatening you with physical harm or something. Then lawyering up pays off.

fisherjeff 8y ago
I’m hoping that’s the misunderstanding: Severance != last paycheck.
pasbesoin 8y ago
When/as more and more employees are paid to / held to a standard that keeps them a paycheck or two from insolvency, these mandated non-disclosure/-disparagement/-right-to-sue agreement, in return for severance pay/benefits, have taken on increasing pressure and importance. People in "the tech world" may not experience nor realize the immediate existential threat many people live under, with a job loss. These become another way in which "corporate America" is essentially stifling free speech and individuals' rights. Corporations lobbied heavily to be able to spend unlimited amounts in political campaigns. But, they won't let their workers say a word -- not even about their own direct life experiences.

danharaj 8y ago

Wage theft in the US is measured in billions of dollars per year. Imagine what other abuses that aren't so flagrant and easy to quantify proliferate.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
How is that relevant? Nobody is accusing Tesla of systematically playing games with the books to deny people compensation they are owed (they're accusing Tesla of other unethical practices). edit: Never mind. Either I misread or you edited your comment to add the second sentence.
- danharaj 8y ago
  The implication was that management was using a worker's final paycheck as leverage to pressure them into signing an NDA. That's using wage theft as a threat.
- pjc50 8y ago
  I thought that's exactly what the accusation was: witholding the last pay packet until the agreement was signed. This isn't the same as the more respectable practice of extra redundancy payments that are conditional on signing a no-sue agreement.

Anderkent 8y ago

A bonus payment if you sign an NDA on departure seems pretty common.

pjc50 8y ago

Disappointing, but not surprising. Once a company decides that their workers are the enemy rather than an asset or part of the team, this kind of thing creeps in anywhere. Like Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers. Ford at least planned for his workers to be able to buy his cars, but that's clearly going to be further away on the Tesla roadmap than a trip to Mars.

DINKDINK 8y ago
>Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers To protect the safety of your workers, you do not want someone who is high/impaired operating machinery that can kill them or others. If you've been in an industrial factory or seen videos of factory deaths, you know how serious such a threat can be. I wouldn't be surprised if the worker testing was part of their insurance contract.
- dec0dedab0de 8y ago
  >Musk conspicuously smoking weed while running a factory that drug tests its workers To protect the safety of your workers, you do not want someone who is high/impaired operating machinery... Drug tests can't tell if you are currently intoxicated. It's not like a breathalyzer. I doubt they would make a rule that says you can't have a drink after work.
  - FireBeyond 8y ago
    I went, as a firefighter, to a fire at a legal marijuana grow op. Just a small little thing, but approximately 1 1/2 lb of product was caught up in the fire. I was advised as the officer to fill out an exposure report. Why worry, I thought - yes, we could smell it, strongly, yes, there was some smoke, etc., but for the most part, nice and funny as a story. Our Medical Services Officer reminded me that THC stays in the system for quite a while. And for those volunteers, this would be a record that would protect them if they got tested in their day job, saying that it was an "exposure", not something else.

dec0dedab0de 8y ago

I think the entire practice of exit interviews should be outlawed. Perhaps replaced with an optional post-exit interview that takes place after the final payment has been received, and that comes with compensation of it's own.

ddingus 8y ago

Totally common. You get a non toxic reference, money, and agree to STFU. Last pay due is unconditional, barring any financial agreement and balance in play. No, this is hush money being tied to being quiet, often framed as road money.

masonic 8y ago

pushed to sign non-disclosure agreements before receiving their last paycheck Illegal in CA, at least. I suspect they are conflating a severance with the paycheck.