In such situations, it's impossible to tell whether it's a forced resignation or not, unless the people who really know (the board and CEO) want to talk about i

In such situations, it's impossible to tell whether it's a forced resignation or not, unless the people who really know (the board and CEO) want to talk about it. Note that labor law sometimes treats even explicit resignations as equivalent to dismissal - "constructive termination" - when pressured by a intolerable situation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal#United_States_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal#United_S... However, the relationship between a board and CEO, and the power and discretion of the CEO, is quite different than the situation of most employees, so a lot of the same worker-protection logic would not likely apply. So I find this an interesting item about how California law is so explicitly protective of political participation by general employees... but not likely a cause for action in the Eich situation.