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Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

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Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#11
post #7

IANAL, and this is my 2 cents. Get a good labor lawyer. 1. Did your sign-on bonus state that you had to stay a certain time to keep it. If not, don't give it back. They are hostile (and have already taken hostile actions) and haven't earned consideration. Any payment from you should come with them signing an onerous agreement. 2. If you have to give it back by contractual obligation, then pay the whole amount. You ge…

To address point 7., My performance "award" was just an "employee of the month" style photo on the HR wall and a gift card for a decent dinner (not a performance bonus).

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#12

Contd.. 4. Lesson learned: The conversation with HR didn't turn out the way I expected. Although I was asked by the HR manager to turn in my resignation, I was unsettled enough by the order to leave that I forgot to give my resignation in writing. I was actually willing to do stay around a even a month for them until they hired a replacement and I had mentioned that to my manager. Not in writing though. Just a note f…

This gave them enough ammo to call a few recruiters and tell them that I quit without even a 2 week notice Unless you have an employment contract that said otherwise your employment is "at-will", meaning you can be fired at any time and, in return, you can walk away at any time. Two weeks is a common courtesy but is not required of anyone. Given the hostile environment, it probably would not have been a productive ti…

True. Employment was "at will".

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#13
post #5

From what you are saying, it sounds like this company would be best suited to get their HR shit straight, or they will find themselves in a world of hurt down the road. HR Lady's mention that "her mental state was transitioning towards anger" can be described as offensive conduct, and the EEOC would be all over that. Also, The Department of Labor doesn't take too kindly to stuff like this. Do find an Employment/Labor…

Thanks! That particular comment seemed really out of line. I just took a deep breath and left the room.

You did the right thing. Sadly, the quality of HR professionals has been on the decline for some time now, because kids are coming out of college with HR degrees that are completely detached from reality (wait, this sounds like a lot of college degrees :) ). They don't realize how much litigation is involved and just how much an HR mistake can harm a business.

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#14
post #7

IANAL, and this is my 2 cents. Get a good labor lawyer. 1. Did your sign-on bonus state that you had to stay a certain time to keep it. If not, don't give it back. They are hostile (and have already taken hostile actions) and haven't earned consideration. Any payment from you should come with them signing an onerous agreement. 2. If you have to give it back by contractual obligation, then pay the whole amount. You ge…

To address point 7., My performance "award" was just an "employee of the month" style photo on the HR wall and a gift card for a decent dinner (not a performance bonus).

That alone should be enough to leave :).

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#16
post #9

Get a labour lawyer, and get them on retainer. You may not need it, but that's fine. Lawyers hold funds in trust - not that anything can happen, but having them on retainer means that should you be in some sort of sticky situation, you can continue using said lawyer, as they're already on retainer. Then - stop. Don't do anything , anything , anything , without a discussion with said lawyer. Follow everything that law…

You might give Scott a call -- http://www.gatteylaw.com/

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#17
post #7

IANAL, and this is my 2 cents. Get a good labor lawyer. 1. Did your sign-on bonus state that you had to stay a certain time to keep it. If not, don't give it back. They are hostile (and have already taken hostile actions) and haven't earned consideration. Any payment from you should come with them signing an onerous agreement. 2. If you have to give it back by contractual obligation, then pay the whole amount. You ge…

Agree with #1 completely. As for everything else, I'm not sure you have much to be worried about until something actually happens.

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This gave them enough ammo to call a few recruiters and tell them that I quit without even a 2 week notice Unless you have an employment contract that said otherwise your employment is "at-will", meaning you can be fired at any time and, in return, you can walk away at any time. Two weeks is a common courtesy but is not required of anyone. Given the hostile environment, it probably would not have been a productive ti…

True. Employment was "at will".

If they did call people and tell them you quit without notice, they are likely opening themselves up to damages. If your story is accurate, then they lied if they said you quit without notice, as they asked you to resign that day. If they are telling lies about you ; and you are damaged, they are likely liable for that. Talk to an employment attorney.

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#19
post #9

Get a labour lawyer, and get them on retainer. You may not need it, but that's fine. Lawyers hold funds in trust - not that anything can happen, but having them on retainer means that should you be in some sort of sticky situation, you can continue using said lawyer, as they're already on retainer. Then - stop. Don't do anything , anything , anything , without a discussion with said lawyer. Follow everything that law…

You don't even (necessarily) need to pay anything. Good lawyers will often give you a free consultation to discuss your case. Take them up on it.

Re: Ask HN: Quit my job. Company coming after me

#20
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree. My realization was that I'd rather spend the non-family time on my own ideas. I've edited my post so the focus stays on the questions I've asked.

RE your questions there's one thing I know: non-compete are not enforceable in California. Relax and join a different medical startup if you want. (I am not a lawyer, so get one to confirm, or get listen to another 10 random folks :)) Unsure about remaining questions: 1) can you do anything to prevent your defamation among recruiters and/or make them pay for it, 2) sign-in bonus tax issues. But my point was that as f…

"non-compete are not enforceable in California. Relax and join a different medical startup if you want."

The way I read the OP (though this may be incorrect) wasn't so much that they were threatening to enforce a non-compete, but rather that they intended to blackball him within the local industry.

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