> I would expect any company that actually did this to get some serious negative PR from it, such that they have trouble hiring talented engineers in the future

> I would expect any company that actually did this to get some serious negative PR from it, such that they have trouble hiring talented engineers in the future. Except employment agreements provide significant leeway into getting injunctions and for fines, so while an employee could go on the offensive and say that this is an issue, there could also be an injunction or agreements that prevent them from even talking about it without the risk of significantly more financial harm or contempt charges.