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Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

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Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#51

Post by arram »

sgift wrote: post #40
arram wrote: post #24

Umm. It was pretty clearly not done for vindictive reasons. The guy lied about why he was let go and put Reddit in the awkward position of either saying nothing and letting people believe they're a shitty workplace that fires people for disagreeing with management, or telling the truth about why the guy was fired (not laid off.) Frankly, he brought this on himself by forcing Reddit into choosing between two sucky opt…

That's one interpretation - alternative: He said the truth, Reddit tries to get out of a bad spot and throws dirt against an ex-employee.

Unlikely. There's a clear distinction between being fired and being laid off and so the disagreement is about a matter of fact, not opinion. More likely the guy started an AMA without thinking it through, then lied to save face when someone asked why he was let go.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#52

Post by opendais »

dreamweapon wrote: post #48
opendais wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. If you make accusations in a public forum (as that employee did) the company is going to respond. That is a given and perfectly normal. The guy basically said he was "laid off" followed by "because I pissed off management with my feedback". Claiming it was a retaliatory firing forces a response.

"because I pissed off management with my feedback" Umm -- did he say that, in the words you are using (and took the trouble to put in quotes)? If so, where? It doesn't seem to appear anywhere in the comment thread.

I was paraphrasing: "Officially: no reason. And I get this; I vaguely know how CA employment law works and that you limit your liability by not stating a reason. It's also really hard to work through in your mind. The best theory I have is that, two weeks earlier, I raised concerns about donating 10% of ad revenue to charity. Some management likes getting feedback, some doesn't.

..."

When you make a statement like "Some management likes getting feedback, some doesn't." in relation to being laid off, you are implying it was retaliatory. I'm pretty sure Yishan saw it as that hence his reply.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#53

Post by nknighthb »

exelius wrote: post #31
reduce wrote: post #8

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…

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 compan…

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.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#54

Post by jyxent »

sp332 wrote: post #15
jyxent wrote: post #6

Is this legal? Where I live, I'm pretty sure this kind of public disclosure isn't allowed due to privacy laws.

Privacy? Why would privacy law say an employer can't tell people you're unproductive?

I live in Alberta, Canada. The Personal Information Protection Act governs the use of personal information by the private sector. Companies are allowed to give references when asked, but I believe public posts such as these would be illegal under the act.

Even giving references can be an issue. The law states that the company must make an effort to make sure the information is accurate and complete. For subjective measurements, there may be argument over what is accurate. When my father was working, their lawyers recommended they not give any information other than confirming employment dates and duties for references.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#55

Post by [deleted] »

dreamweapon wrote: post #48
opendais wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. If you make accusations in a public forum (as that employee did) the company is going to respond. That is a given and perfectly normal. The guy basically said he was "laid off" followed by "because I pissed off management with my feedback". Claiming it was a retaliatory firing forces a response.

"because I pissed off management with my feedback" Umm -- did he say that, in the words you are using (and took the trouble to put in quotes)? If so, where? It doesn't seem to appear anywhere in the comment thread.

[deleted]

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#56

Post by markbao »

[deleted] wrote: post #44

[deleted]

Non-disparagement agreements are common elements in the USA for severance/release contracts.

As for the 'unconstitutionality' of Sony trying to make people sign away their right to a class action lawsuit, it doesn't violate the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech, for the most part, only protects against the state infringing on your rights. This is often confused, even by people like Sarah Palin, so I'm not blaming you for not knowing it—but that's something to consider.

What Sony tried to do is egregious, though, and it can be struck down if a court says that the class action waiver is not enforceable.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#57

Post by TheOsiris »

arram wrote: post #24

Umm. It was pretty clearly not done for vindictive reasons. The guy lied about why he was let go and put Reddit in the awkward position of either saying nothing and letting people believe they're a shitty workplace that fires people for disagreeing with management, or telling the truth about why the guy was fired (not laid off.) Frankly, he brought this on himself by forcing Reddit into choosing between two sucky opt…

this is not how I read it at all. This seems very vindictive to me. The employee's comment was not as bad as the response from the CEO. He was just guessing as to why he was laid off. For the CEO to jump in and respond himself shows a very thin skin. Also, the tone of the response is a little too angry. This could've have been handled by the employee's direct manager, not the CEO.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#58

Post by pXMzR2A »

dreamweapon wrote: post #10

Sounds like a toxic environment. Whatever the employee may have done to deserve separation, it is profoundly weird and troubling (and also, implicitly threatening to all employees, whatever their rank or standing) to see a CEO discuss those reasons in public.

I read over the employee's comments. I agree with your position but also, they seemed calm and composed. Unless he deleted his "bad" ones, I didn't get why the CEO was out there + harsh.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#59

Post by shostack »

sama wrote: post #26
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #2

Aw man. This is totally gonna get taken down by YC management/altman...

obviously not going to take it down, but it has 6 flags in 36 minutes (a very high number), and with a few more it will fall off the front page.

This is an interesting phenomenon. Given that the story is arguably fairly relevant to the recent investment by Sam, what safeguards are in place to ensure that content like this can't be taken out of the public light by a "reporting brigade?"

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#60

Post by penprog »

opendais wrote: post #38
dreamweapon wrote: post #10

Sounds like a toxic environment. Whatever the employee may have done to deserve separation, it is profoundly weird and troubling (and also, implicitly threatening to all employees, whatever their rank or standing) to see a CEO discuss those reasons in public.

No. If you make accusations in a public forum (as that employee did) the company is going to respond. That is a given and perfectly normal. The guy basically said he was "laid off" followed by "because I pissed off management with my feedback". Claiming it was a retaliatory firing forces a response.

The company should have had a long discussion with legal and posted a public statement. The CEO shouldn't have gone on his website and posted a comment as a response that sounds like a 5 year old having a temper tantrum.
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