4 ms·

Forcing employees to sign a non-disparagement agreement? -- Screw that. (Edit: force, compel, persuade, strongly hint: semantics.) Saying that a former employe

by reduce 12y ago

Forcing employees to sign a non-disparagement agreement? -- Screw that. (Edit: force, compel, persuade, strongly hint: semantics.) Saying that a former employee violating a non-disparagement agreement means that it's now a good idea for the company to take use an eye-for-an-eye policy in return? -- What. No (American) non-executive employees should ever be forced to sign anything. I never have for any job. Employers are in too powerful of a position by default.

xGrill 12y ago
I am not 100% sure of the agreements of his termination, but I am pretty sure no one is "forced" to sign anything, however, in the states, severance packages are optional, and not required. If the company wants to give severance packages if you sign a non-disparagement agreement, I do not see anything wrong with this.
lclarkmichalek 12y ago
Did they force him to sign it? How could they force him; what are they going to do if he refuses? Fire him? Anyway, yishan gives a decent enough justification IMO
- fragmede 12y ago
  not give him the severance package to the tune of 2-month's pay + benefits.
jerhinesmith 12y ago
I don't think you're forced to sign. That point is also lightly touched on in the comment - "the non-disparagement we asked you to sign" and "Even if you don't sign the non-disparagement". I've signed these before, and I was under no impression that I was being forced.
- tghw 12y ago
  His signature was required for the severance package, according to him. https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2iea97/i_am_a_former_reddit_employee_ama/cl1u62c https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2iea97/i_am_a_former_r...
  - jerhinesmith 12y ago
    I don't believe severance pay is required by law in California. In that case, asking someone to sign a non-disparagement agreement in exchange for helping them land on their feet seems like a reasonable request.
  - exelius 12y ago
    Then he shouldn't have signed the severance deal (which he didn't). An employer is not entitled to give you money to go away; they give you money in exchange for certain things, one of those being that you shut your mouth and not do an AMA on reddit about it. This guy is an idiot and is likely going to have a hard time finding a job based on this behavior. What he's doing isn't illegal, but it's quite unprofessional.
andzt 12y ago
Normally required as part of a severance package. Pretty standard.
- limaoscarjuliet 12y ago
  And pretty fair. The company says: we know you will suffer, we can help by giving you some extra $, in exchange please reduce our pain and sign this so we can avoid liability and lawyer expense in the future.
deleted 12y ago
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exelius 12y ago
1. They never forced anyone to sign it; but in general it's a stupid idea to talk poorly about a former employer in public. This guy was doing a fucking AMA on reddit about his time being employed at reddit. He knew he had been fired; and he had to know the truth was going to come out. 2. That's not what he said. The former employee speculated that he was laid off in retaliation for something or other; and the company replied with the actual reason for his termination in its own defense. In general, if you were laid off or fired from a job, it's best not to spout off about it in public (especially on the site that used to employ you). It doesn't matter whether you signed anything or not; unless your former employer was doing something illegal and you're blowing the whistle, it's best to keep your mouth shut.
- nknighthb 12y ago
  The "speculation" was pretty mild. Most of it was vague, the most specific bits were either implausible (fired for being insufficiently charitable) or have been said by almost every employee of every company in history (management doesn't like criticism). I see no reason a rational executive would feel compelled to raise the profile of the issue by responding at all, much less in this dramatic fashion.
  - shostack 12y ago
    Not arguing one way or another, but I personally would categorize the implied allegation (Reddit is being unwise in how it manages its finances, on the heels of a large investment round being announced) as a bit more than "mild." Was this the best way to respond? Probably not. Did it warrant some kind of response? Probably.
    - nknighthb 12y ago
      Reddit deliberately portrays itself as unwise in how it manages its finances. It's a key part of their corporate image. If any of the investors didn't know this, they didn't do any due diligence. Companies wasting money isn't an unusual theme, either. Even on the days I've been happiest in my employment, I could probably name you a half dozen ways in which I believed the my employer(s) were spending unwise amounts of money on things they shouldn't be.
greenyoda 12y ago
"Forcing employees to sign a non-disparagement agreement? -- Screw that." There's no way an employer can force you to sign a non-disparagement agreement (or do anything else) after they've fired you - what can they do to you, fire you again? The ex-employee gets something in return (a "consideration" in legalese) for signing the non-disparagement agreement. For example, the company agrees not to say bad things about the employee, gives them severance pay, etc. In return for severance pay, the employee usually also signs a "general release" which absolves the company from any legal liability (wrongful dismissal suit, etc.).

by reduce 12y ago

xGrill 12y ago

I am not 100% sure of the agreements of his termination, but I am pretty sure no one is "forced" to sign anything, however, in the states, severance packages are optional, and not required. If the company wants to give severance packages if you sign a non-disparagement agreement, I do not see anything wrong with this.

lclarkmichalek 12y ago

Did they force him to sign it? How could they force him; what are they going to do if he refuses? Fire him? Anyway, yishan gives a decent enough justification IMO

fragmede 12y ago
not give him the severance package to the tune of 2-month's pay + benefits.

jerhinesmith 12y ago

I don't think you're forced to sign. That point is also lightly touched on in the comment - "the non-disparagement we asked you to sign" and "Even if you don't sign the non-disparagement". I've signed these before, and I was under no impression that I was being forced.

tghw 12y ago
His signature was required for the severance package, according to him. https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2iea97/i_am_a_former_reddit_employee_ama/cl1u62c https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2iea97/i_am_a_former_r...
- jerhinesmith 12y ago
  I don't believe severance pay is required by law in California. In that case, asking someone to sign a non-disparagement agreement in exchange for helping them land on their feet seems like a reasonable request.
- exelius 12y ago
  Then he shouldn't have signed the severance deal (which he didn't). An employer is not entitled to give you money to go away; they give you money in exchange for certain things, one of those being that you shut your mouth and not do an AMA on reddit about it. This guy is an idiot and is likely going to have a hard time finding a job based on this behavior. What he's doing isn't illegal, but it's quite unprofessional.

andzt 12y ago

Normally required as part of a severance package. Pretty standard.

limaoscarjuliet 12y ago
And pretty fair. The company says: we know you will suffer, we can help by giving you some extra $, in exchange please reduce our pain and sign this so we can avoid liability and lawyer expense in the future.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

exelius 12y ago

1. They never forced anyone to sign it; but in general it's a stupid idea to talk poorly about a former employer in public. This guy was doing a fucking AMA on reddit about his time being employed at reddit. He knew he had been fired; and he had to know the truth was going to come out. 2. That's not what he said. The former employee speculated that he was laid off in retaliation for something or other; and the company replied with the actual reason for his termination in its own defense. In general, if you were laid off or fired from a job, it's best not to spout off about it in public (especially on the site that used to employ you). It doesn't matter whether you signed anything or not; unless your former employer was doing something illegal and you're blowing the whistle, it's best to keep your mouth shut.

nknighthb 12y ago
The "speculation" was pretty mild. Most of it was vague, the most specific bits were either implausible (fired for being insufficiently charitable) or have been said by almost every employee of every company in history (management doesn't like criticism). I see no reason a rational executive would feel compelled to raise the profile of the issue by responding at all, much less in this dramatic fashion.
- shostack 12y ago
  Not arguing one way or another, but I personally would categorize the implied allegation (Reddit is being unwise in how it manages its finances, on the heels of a large investment round being announced) as a bit more than "mild." Was this the best way to respond? Probably not. Did it warrant some kind of response? Probably.
  - nknighthb 12y ago
    Reddit deliberately portrays itself as unwise in how it manages its finances. It's a key part of their corporate image. If any of the investors didn't know this, they didn't do any due diligence. Companies wasting money isn't an unusual theme, either. Even on the days I've been happiest in my employment, I could probably name you a half dozen ways in which I believed the my employer(s) were spending unwise amounts of money on things they shouldn't be.

greenyoda 12y ago

"Forcing employees to sign a non-disparagement agreement? -- Screw that." There's no way an employer can force you to sign a non-disparagement agreement (or do anything else) after they've fired you - what can they do to you, fire you again? The ex-employee gets something in return (a "consideration" in legalese) for signing the non-disparagement agreement. For example, the company agrees not to say bad things about the employee, gives them severance pay, etc. In return for severance pay, the employee usually also signs a "general release" which absolves the company from any legal liability (wrongful dismissal suit, etc.).