2 ms·

> They withdrew an offer of employment. Doing this without compensation is ABSOLUTELY doing something wrong. Maybe not necessarily tortious, but certainly unet

by jowiar 12y ago

> They withdrew an offer of employment. Doing this without compensation is ABSOLUTELY doing something wrong. Maybe not necessarily tortious, but certainly unethical and indicative of someone who should not be trusted in a business relationship. The YC company made a mistake and is sticking someone else with the bill. FWIW, There's a certain amount of "foreigners are expendable" mindset that seems to exist in the American tech sphere that might factor into this situation as well...

shampine 12y ago
I had an offer withdrawn the day before I was supposed to get on a plane to move myself cross country. I had quit my job, broken my lease, etc. The company paid me a 6 week severance, even though I never worked a minute for them, just to compensate me for what I had given up.
- Alupis 12y ago
  That was a very nice company. They were in no way obligated to do any of that. You chose to break your lease on a gamble that things would work out for you... obviously they didn't... that's just how it is.
  - pmiller2 12y ago
    I'm not a lawyer, but having quit a job, broken a lease, and literally packed up to move the next day, I think promissory estoppel might apply. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promissory_estoppel#Promissory_estoppel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promissory_estoppel#Promissory_...
    - sbalea 12y ago
      Yes, which is why they paid him 6 weeks. I am sure in the papers there there's a "no lawsuit" clause…
  - onedev 12y ago
    It appears to me you don't have a particularly good grasp of the laws and legal code surrounding these circumstances beyond cursory Wikipedia articles. Often the laws are much much more complex than they appear on the surface.
georgespencer 12y ago
> certainly unethical and indicative of someone who should not be trusted in a business relationship Not necessarily. What if a major investor pulled out and they aren't going to have the capital available to hire this guy? What if hiring him meant not paying people who had been promised salaries after working for free? What if they could have hired him but others would have had to be fired? They certainly made a mistake, but we don't know why they did what they did. It's unlikely to be malicious "Let's just screw this guy", and far more likely to be for reasons that each one of us, if we were in their shoes, would consider to be very good.

by jowiar 12y ago

shampine 12y ago

I had an offer withdrawn the day before I was supposed to get on a plane to move myself cross country. I had quit my job, broken my lease, etc. The company paid me a 6 week severance, even though I never worked a minute for them, just to compensate me for what I had given up.

Alupis 12y ago
That was a very nice company. They were in no way obligated to do any of that. You chose to break your lease on a gamble that things would work out for you... obviously they didn't... that's just how it is.
- pmiller2 12y ago
  I'm not a lawyer, but having quit a job, broken a lease, and literally packed up to move the next day, I think promissory estoppel might apply. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promissory_estoppel#Promissory_estoppel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promissory_estoppel#Promissory_...
  - sbalea 12y ago
    Yes, which is why they paid him 6 weeks. I am sure in the papers there there's a "no lawsuit" clause…
- onedev 12y ago
  It appears to me you don't have a particularly good grasp of the laws and legal code surrounding these circumstances beyond cursory Wikipedia articles. Often the laws are much much more complex than they appear on the surface.

georgespencer 12y ago

> certainly unethical and indicative of someone who should not be trusted in a business relationship Not necessarily. What if a major investor pulled out and they aren't going to have the capital available to hire this guy? What if hiring him meant not paying people who had been promised salaries after working for free? What if they could have hired him but others would have had to be fired? They certainly made a mistake, but we don't know why they did what they did. It's unlikely to be malicious "Let's just screw this guy", and far more likely to be for reasons that each one of us, if we were in their shoes, would consider to be very good.