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Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

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Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#371

Post by adastra22 »

dlcarrier wrote: post #186
adastra22 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, IANAL but it seems very much like grounds for an open-and-shut wrongful termination suit, given that they have admitted it up front. They could be taken to the cleaners for this.

This guy's back pay of income, severance, and benefits could really add up, but that's more a factor of him getting paid a lot in the first place than wrongful termination suits being particularly fruitful. I wouldn't really describe their payouts as being "taken to the cleaners".

Bringing a wrongful-termination suit is career-killing, so damages could be as much as his entire expected compensation of his remaining career (including equity grants), x6 for punitive damages.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#372

Post by adastra22 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #228
adastra22 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, IANAL but it seems very much like grounds for an open-and-shut wrongful termination suit, given that they have admitted it up front. They could be taken to the cleaners for this.

It is a lot more complicated than that. The details matter. Were they doing it at work? Did their usage patern or disclosure show poor judgment? It is very likely Netflix's argument would be more complex.

Clinical depression is a mental disability under California law, and thereby a protected medical condition. The bar that Netflix needs to meet is very, very high. Like, operating deadly machinery endangering others while on ketamine. Short of that, no. His employment contract can specify whatever, but state law trumps contracts here. Netflix's lawyer straight up admitted to firing for a protected medical condition.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#373

Post by whateverboat »

ionwake wrote: post #271

I know some of the younger folk may not realise reality is stranger than fiction, but I too have been on a "work mandated drink alchohol bus" where I remember even though I was young, I was terrified the whole time wondering why we were being forced to drink infront of C suite; forced on a hell ride through the black country ( Thats a region in England). One might think it was naive and odd for me as a young autistic…

I don't drink at work. It's simple as that. I treat every retreat as work trip. I am professional. No gossip, nothing.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#375

Post by Earw0rm »

not-kinsale-joe wrote: post #279
ionwake wrote: post #271

I know some of the younger folk may not realise reality is stranger than fiction, but I too have been on a "work mandated drink alchohol bus" where I remember even though I was young, I was terrified the whole time wondering why we were being forced to drink infront of C suite; forced on a hell ride through the black country ( Thats a region in England). One might think it was naive and odd for me as a young autistic…

UK had the most unhinged work drinking culture I had ever seen.

Mostly in the past tense now, for better or worse.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#376

Post by everfrustrated »

joe_the_user wrote: post #207
ksenzee wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not your whole self, but I'd like the people I work with to feel safe talking about their family, their disabilities, their religion, their culture or subculture, the things they love doing, whatever makes them human.

Employers who expect to know things about employee's personal lives are despicable. I expect to accomplish my tasks. I can be friendly, polite and humorous but you don't need to know anything about how I live. The main factor is a boss or supervisor can act on their judgement of an employee and employees do not have the same leverage.

If you ask your employer to treat you like a robot - don't be surprised when you get replaced by a robot.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#377

Post by noir_lord »

rwmj wrote: post #302
gadders wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's dropped off now. It was better in the 90s.

It was pretty mad in the 90s, but I don't recall anyone ever being forced into it at companies I worked for. A company mandated "alcohol bus" sounds ridiculous then and now.

> A company mandated "alcohol bus" sounds ridiculous then and now.

Sounds like a law suit waiting to happen.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#378

Post by piguin »

72deluxe wrote: post #370
alibarber wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this sounds awful - but perhaps hiring people that would turn their workplace into what you just described was exactly what they (as an organisation, not necessarily individually) wanted to avoid, just, perhaps not by overtly saying it.

Perhaps, but if they wanted any of their 6 million lines of COM-laden C++ to continue working into the future, they'd need those sort of people.

No, that's a bit reverse prejudice and also a bit wrong on assumptions. If you bring in people who are levels above they aren't inherently on the spectrum and it's once you bring them in that you have a dependence on finding more instead of working at a complexity and expertise level that might be more maintainable.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#379

Post by fg137 »

Johnny555 wrote: post #57

Offsite retreats seem like a bad idea in general, I've never been to one where I felt the team or company worked together better afterwards, and I've seen some spectacularly bad results... like the time the facilitator tried to get to the bottom of tensions between the CTO and head of sales (the classic problem of "Engineering isn't shipping features fast enough" and "Sales is selling features before even consulting…

We have a "retreat" every other year or so at a certain resort across the country. What happens is that the company flies everyone there + including overseas employees) do 3 days of meeting plus 1 day of free time before flying everyone back. 2 employees share a room, no family or friends allowed even if you want to pay for your hotel rooms out of the pocket.

I don't see any point of this. Such a waste of time and jet fuel. I would rather have those meetings at worksite and get a nice discount for the resort and go there with my own schedule and on my own terms.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#380

Post by sethammons »

watwut wrote: post #239
bsimpson wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Bring your whole self to work" was HR virtue signaling to the people favored by DEI, when it was still en vogue.

I remember a "beer test" as a hiring practice recommended on HN and blogs. And pointifications about how culture fit is important. And effectively mandatory games playing after work. And "united meritocracy" slogan bullshit. So, go outta there with complains about hr slogan and dei.

Yes, beer test: would I have a beer with them / did they order a beer at lunch like everyone else

This was a practice that our company had to be explicitly coached away from. Early 2010s. Def before DEI was popular, which feels more like later 2010s.

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