3 ms·
> We don't have debtors prisons. No one's suggesting such. We have plenty of disputed behavior and harms that are within the purview of civil courts, and then
by mlyle 3y ago
> We don't have debtors prisons.
No one's suggesting such.
We have plenty of disputed behavior and harms that are within the purview of civil courts, and then more egregious versions that are crimes. IMO, withholding significant pay that you have the ability to pay and is unambiguously contractually owed causes pretty serious harm, and society has strong reasons to criminalize this conduct.
Accepting services from someone while having no intent to honor the contract, hoping that disproportionate resources will prevent them from enforcing the contract "feels" like fraud: so let's codify it.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y agoExactly: we already have plenty of areas where a civil case can turn into a criminal one like fraud (just ask Elizabeth Holmes). Saying "we'll pay you severance" with 0 intention to do so sure sounds like fraud to me.
- JieJie 3y agoWage theft and fraud are crimes that state attorneys general do prosecute. https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/attorney-general-ferguson-files-criminal-wage-theft-and-fraud-charges-against https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/attorney-general-f...
- jntvjnvutnuvt 3y agoNot paying severance is not wage theft. Severance was not included in Twitter's employee contract.
- mlyle 3y ago> Severance was not included in Twitter's employee contract. It likely was once promises were made to continue to pay severance for at least one year, and employees relied upon this promise (instead of immediately seeking to work elsewhere).
- piva00 3y agoThe kind of technical loophole that America's law system seems to be riddled with (and the "akshually" crowd kinda loves to play with)... It's not technically wage theft, in spirit it's pretty similar to wage theft since the termination of employment contracts had severance payment as a clause. Potato, potato.
- jntvjnvutnuvt 3y agoSeverance is typically not "unambiguously contractually owed." The fact that many here would want company executives imprisoned for not offering goodwill boggles my mind.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- locopati 3y agoIt may not be owed but it was promised, presumably in legally enforceable documents that would have been used if the former employees broke the terms of severance.
- piva00 3y agoNo, they should be imprisoned for misleading, by defrauding. The "goodwill" was promised, in legal documents, and not fulfilled, that same goodwill is a major leverage against the employee, if such a promise was made you will take life decisions differently than if there was no such promise, when that promise is broken and your life is affected (as in: you'd move somewhere else and try a different venture, now you can't because you need to look for a job right now) then it's a fraud and a billionaire should really suffer just due to the power imbalance in the equation. The fact that you are defending this practice makes me almost want to ask you how do their boots taste like...
- lost_tourist 3y ago[flagged]
- hn_throwaway_99 3y agoPlease read the HN Guidelines, https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html : > Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. > Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. > Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills.