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The NYC has a documented complaint process. Start there if you have evidence of a violation. My quick reading of the NYC law tells me HN and other public forums

The NYC has a documented complaint process. Start there if you have evidence of a violation. My quick reading of the NYC law tells me HN and other public forums for job postings do not have to enforce the law -- the person/company writing the job posting has to comply. If YC-funded companies break the NYC job posting law I don't see where in the wording of the law that investors have any legal jeopardy. The law in question only has vague enforcement provisions that include fines "up to $250,000," which means any actual cases brought for enforcement will end up in court in NYC. A civil judge will then get to decide what "good faith" means in each specific case, and also decide questions of jurisdiction and responsibility.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> HN and other public forums for job postings do not have to enforce the law I don’t think Hacker News faces liability for posting non-compliant ads. (Not a lawyer!) But if it turns out to be a trove of them, HN’s essentially a honey pot. > any actual cases brought for enforcement will end up in court in NYC Precisely what you want your early-stage portfolio dealing with.
- gregjor 4y ago
  The way the law reads it looks like someone has to file a complaint. I doubt the NYC Commission on Human Rights has the manpower to scour the internet for violations. Agree that investors should not tolerate illegal behavior from their portfolio companies, but realistically VCs can't manage every day-to-day detail of their portfolio. And even when they do get involved they can't always control the management -- see Uber, for example. Sometimes the VCs provide the legal cover for questionable behavior because the potential profits outweigh the potential fines and risk of enforcement by well-intentioned but ultimately toothless laws, as I suspect the NYC law will turn out.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > doubt the NYC Commission on Human Rights has the manpower to scour the internet for violations New York City has no shortage of investigators with overlapping jurisdiction looking for troves of targets. > VCs can't manage every day-to-day detail of their portfolio These are job postings on Hacker News!

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> HN and other public forums for job postings do not have to enforce the law I don’t think Hacker News faces liability for posting non-compliant ads. (Not a lawyer!) But if it turns out to be a trove of them, HN’s essentially a honey pot. > any actual cases brought for enforcement will end up in court in NYC Precisely what you want your early-stage portfolio dealing with.

gregjor 4y ago
The way the law reads it looks like someone has to file a complaint. I doubt the NYC Commission on Human Rights has the manpower to scour the internet for violations. Agree that investors should not tolerate illegal behavior from their portfolio companies, but realistically VCs can't manage every day-to-day detail of their portfolio. And even when they do get involved they can't always control the management -- see Uber, for example. Sometimes the VCs provide the legal cover for questionable behavior because the potential profits outweigh the potential fines and risk of enforcement by well-intentioned but ultimately toothless laws, as I suspect the NYC law will turn out.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > doubt the NYC Commission on Human Rights has the manpower to scour the internet for violations New York City has no shortage of investigators with overlapping jurisdiction looking for troves of targets. > VCs can't manage every day-to-day detail of their portfolio These are job postings on Hacker News!