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Ask HN: New employer asking me to sign a strange agreement

8 points by mavsman 7y ago

Have you ever been asked to sign a strange agreement that you did not consent to by an employer? I know non-competes are pretty far reaching in an unrealistic way but are pretty much a standard so we kind of give them a pass with the hopes that they won't be enforced. That said, I was recently asked to sign an agreement that said my company would be able to use my photo, biographical info, or my likeness in any way to promote their products without my consent. Has anyone seen something like this? Were you able to push back against it?

mtmail 7y ago
A friend had to sign this, background is they want to show all employees on the about-us page on the website. I think you can push back and limit the use, e.g. to the website.
mytailorisrich 7y ago
Well, clearly they are asking for your consent... You haven't said what role this relates to. If you'll be attending conferences or somehow end up on company material then this agreement seems normal.
- mavsman 7y ago
  Software engineer at an e-commerce company. Conference attendance is likely at some point but not even close to my primary role.
hos234 7y ago
> Were you able to push back against it? Not really. I tried once and got walked out of the building after sitting through an endless bunch of meetings where different rungs of the hierarchy making the "...but everyone does it" argument. A better approach, I found latter in life is to be buddies with the right people. They want to stick your info all over, go talk to your Marketing/HR/PR buddy.
- mavsman 7y ago
  I was thinking this would be a good approach too, both within the company and outside of it.
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
IANAL. I think that kind of thing is just like "we can post photos of the company picnic on our public-facing website to show what a great place this is to work, without getting sued by someone who is in the picture". It's probably in some best-practices guide that they're following. For me, it's something I might find vaguely annoying, but something I wouldn't worry about. It's not like someone is going to choose my face for a national advertising campaign.
- mavsman 7y ago
  Ya, I am guessing this is something they likely won't pursue to its fullest extent but indeed something annoying. Say for instance, the company is eventually taken over by a bad actor that now wants to put my face on some endorsement for a shady product. Then I won't be too happy about that.
itronitron 7y ago
in any way to promote their products that sounds kind of sketchy unless you happen to be a supermodel, I would hope that they have customers or investors that are better suited to help promote their products
davismwfl 7y ago
This isn't strange or abnormal in normal business, it is just newer for tech staff. I have seen this a lot in marketing and executive employment agreements. It is basically so companies don't get sued for showing pictures of you on their website or in their marketing info etc. Generally it is for two things, 1 to be able to use your image, and 2 to say you have already been compensated for any use of your likeness. Honestly, I think you should be glad this company is being up front about it and not doing what most startups do which is use all that without ever asking your permission or telling you what they might use. If later something changes for you personally, you can send a cease and desist letter to prevent them from using your likeness in the future. IANAL but you do have rights to control the usage of your likeness and bio for future use, you couldn't stop prior usages or force them to recall marketing brochures, but you could prevent them from using your likeness on future material (digital or print) if you sent the C&D.
tdeck 7y ago
Is your new job in California? I think CA has extra laws about using someone's likeness so my employment agreements here have all had language like that. The first time I saw it I thought it was odd too and drew a line through it.
muzani 7y ago
This is not unusual, only an unusual way of asking. The usual way is just to drop you a message on Slack asking if they can use your photo on their pitch deck or website, or attach your resume on a government tender.

8 points by mavsman 7y ago

mtmail 7y ago

A friend had to sign this, background is they want to show all employees on the about-us page on the website. I think you can push back and limit the use, e.g. to the website.

mytailorisrich 7y ago

Well, clearly they are asking for your consent... You haven't said what role this relates to. If you'll be attending conferences or somehow end up on company material then this agreement seems normal.

mavsman 7y ago
Software engineer at an e-commerce company. Conference attendance is likely at some point but not even close to my primary role.

hos234 7y ago

> Were you able to push back against it? Not really. I tried once and got walked out of the building after sitting through an endless bunch of meetings where different rungs of the hierarchy making the "...but everyone does it" argument. A better approach, I found latter in life is to be buddies with the right people. They want to stick your info all over, go talk to your Marketing/HR/PR buddy.

mavsman 7y ago
I was thinking this would be a good approach too, both within the company and outside of it.

AnimalMuppet 7y ago

IANAL. I think that kind of thing is just like "we can post photos of the company picnic on our public-facing website to show what a great place this is to work, without getting sued by someone who is in the picture". It's probably in some best-practices guide that they're following. For me, it's something I might find vaguely annoying, but something I wouldn't worry about. It's not like someone is going to choose my face for a national advertising campaign.

mavsman 7y ago
Ya, I am guessing this is something they likely won't pursue to its fullest extent but indeed something annoying. Say for instance, the company is eventually taken over by a bad actor that now wants to put my face on some endorsement for a shady product. Then I won't be too happy about that.

itronitron 7y ago

in any way to promote their products that sounds kind of sketchy unless you happen to be a supermodel, I would hope that they have customers or investors that are better suited to help promote their products

davismwfl 7y ago

This isn't strange or abnormal in normal business, it is just newer for tech staff. I have seen this a lot in marketing and executive employment agreements. It is basically so companies don't get sued for showing pictures of you on their website or in their marketing info etc. Generally it is for two things, 1 to be able to use your image, and 2 to say you have already been compensated for any use of your likeness. Honestly, I think you should be glad this company is being up front about it and not doing what most startups do which is use all that without ever asking your permission or telling you what they might use. If later something changes for you personally, you can send a cease and desist letter to prevent them from using your likeness in the future. IANAL but you do have rights to control the usage of your likeness and bio for future use, you couldn't stop prior usages or force them to recall marketing brochures, but you could prevent them from using your likeness on future material (digital or print) if you sent the C&D.

tdeck 7y ago

Is your new job in California? I think CA has extra laws about using someone's likeness so my employment agreements here have all had language like that. The first time I saw it I thought it was odd too and drew a line through it.

muzani 7y ago

This is not unusual, only an unusual way of asking. The usual way is just to drop you a message on Slack asking if they can use your photo on their pitch deck or website, or attach your resume on a government tender.