Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think a lawyer will impact the water cooler.
and it will cost you a ton. I love when people immediately jump to "lawyer up" like that's just nothing.
Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
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Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think a lawyer will impact the water cooler.
and it will cost you a ton. I love when people immediately jump to "lawyer up" like that's just nothing.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#23Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#24Talking to lawyers is the right thing to do. You don't want this gossip to become a legal issue for you. Collect detailed notes on when and where you turned in hardware, when / what credentials you had revoked, and to whom you delivered these things and informed about them. Just because you didn't perpetrate the hack doesn't mean that someone else wasn't using your hardware for something nefarious. I normally insist that a work laptop be wiped (obviously with all relevant work product handed off first) before i turn it in.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#25Looks like the kind of employer you might not want to use for references anyway, but I'd gather as much evidence of that gossip as possible, talk to a lawyer and have him/her reach the company to cease propagating these gossip, which could as well be considered defamation. If they believe they're been wronged and something wrong actually happened, then they should bring those facts with proofs to back them up.
I don’t think a lawyer will impact the water cooler.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think a lawyer will impact the water cooler.
and it will cost you a ton. I love when people immediately jump to "lawyer up" like that's just nothing.
Good lawyers explain your options, risks and costs.
I have never been burnt, and I have spent very little money this way.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#27The truth is, it's in no one's best interest to drag this out. They'll do an investigation and only if they have solid evidence will anything come of it. In my case, I did nothing wrong and there was no evidence. Someone accused me of something I didn't do or coincidence(s) led to me being investigated (common in the area I work, actually).
Nothing came of it, because nothing happened on my end. However, it was a nerve-racking experience. Especially, because you never know if something is an accident or mistakenly evaluated.
In a case I'll share, we used a ruby on rails scaffold to create a web app. Unfortunately, it had a mailer in there and looked like we could send emails out. It wasn't active and all generic code "hello world", but you can see how people freaked out. Luckily, those investigating dug into the code and evaluated it, realizing nothing was connected.
In any case, if you did nothing, I'd put your odds at 99.9% chance nothing happens. In the 0.1% chance the company does something, they'll have the burden of proof and their customers will find out. Accusations do not prove guilt. The company would likely be more harmfully impacted than you will and you'll be able to provide a defense to the public record.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assuming this is in the US, it's exceedingly unlikely the company would risk putting a negative reference in writing. OP is unlikely to get more than a confirmation of dates worked though.
Many companies will share "eligible for rehire" status.
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many companies will share "eligible for rehire" status.
Is that legal in the US? And what is the sharing mechanism? Word of mouth?
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/employee-...
Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?
#30I would strongly urge you to retain counsel with a criminal defense attorney and seek to squash this as soon as possible.
When a company claims that someone, especially a former employee, is involved in criminal activity, they will point guns at you and ask questions later. In the eyes of law enforcement, you are presumed guilty.