Slashdot Mirror
How To Handle Corporate Blackmail?
An anonymous reader writes "I have been in a software engineering position at a large company for approximately seven years. Recently, for a variety of reasons, I accepted a new job working for a local software company. I have given my employer three weeks' notice, instead of the standard two, as a courtesy.
In return, it has been implied that, in spite my record of above-average performance appraisals and promotions, I will be marked as leaving the company 'on bad terms' if I refuse to extend my departure date further. With only three weeks remaining, I am hesitant to rock the boat by contacting our HR department, but this concerns me and seems like an extremely unethical practice. I live in an 'at-will' employment state, so I know that they have no legal recourse to keep me. I am concerned about the references they could give in the future; having spent a large majority of my career at this company, I will be dependent on them for references to verify my career experience.
Has anyone ever run into this kind of situation before?"
With a written record of your concerns on file with the HR department, your superiors will understand that a spiteful, negative reference will carry direct negative consequences for them.
... there is no law saying the references you provide have to be in your direct management chain.
As for which references you choose, if you've been working there as many years as you say then there are probably lots of colleagues who can vouch for your performance on projects where you've worked together
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
If they're going to mark you as leaving 'on bad terms', you may as well move the date up and quit now. It's not like they can do anything additional to screw you. Move on to your next (and presumably better) job and forget about the last one.
I doubt they're going to tell any future employer anything more than the dates of employment. However (and this is just me), if you can confirm that they're definitely going to give you the bad reference, it's not going to hurt you to pack your things *today* and walk with no notice - it *is* an at-will state, after all. You've already got another job, so the reference from your current employer isn't as important as it would be otherwise, and I personally would not be in the frame of mind to offer anything more to an employer that attempted to twist my arm like that. Screw 'em.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
Remember: get everything in writing and recorded. That includes statements and discussions about this "you need to extend your leave or we might not be so friendly". In an extreme case only, I would suggest stating that you are recording all conversations as is your privilege, and then do so (say with a digital camera or something). Refuse to have conversations that do not have other people with you, and absolutely refuse to have a 2v1 scenario (2 management plus you)...that is quite deliberate as a legal maneuver for workplaces so they can choose what to deny/accept as fact.
I'd be calling the ACLU among other places and start talking to a lawyer and getting advice in case they do pull something. I think you just found your sign of a bad employer.
Either way, get more info. This just reeks of "not enough info".
I have been in a similar situation- and there is no simple answer. You have to talk to your HR department, simply because you have no other recourse that could come with a positive outcome for you. The only other option with a positive outcome is to contact your new employer and ask for an extension, but in this job market, I would definitely seek out a response from the HR department first. Did this statement come from your boss or higher up the chain? How large a company is this?
In my situation, it was a smaller company (50 employees, give or take), and it came from the top. I ended up pulling my contract and backing the employer down, simply by pointing out that my contract required 30 days of notice, and I provided more than that. I had also let them know I was looking before I found a new employer, and already had a glowing letter of recommendation from the company, so I had proof that any negative feedback was biased and silly compared to the official recommendation. Did you provide your notice in written format, and keep a copy? Did you sign a contract when you started?
Most of us don't leave companies particularly often, and are not experts on every detail of how to do it. As well as asking friends, why not get the collective wisdom of Slashdot, where there is experience of hundreds of companies and their behavior? Sometimes tags like "thinkforyourself" are just annoying!
With only three weeks remaining, I am hesitant to rock the boat by contacting our HR department
Think of it less as "rocking the boat" and more as "making it clear that blackmail will not work".
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
This is exactly right. There are quite a few precedents regarding employers doing anything other than confirming objective information in regards to an employment inquiry.
As an aside, it is quite possible that no one above your manager (presuming it was he/she that threatened you) is aware of this stupid intimidation tactic.
You MAY wish to obtain copies of your reviews and other praises prior to leaving the company.
Loading...
Leave sooner.
They have threatened you and have created a hostile work environment. No reason to 'suck it up'. Just leave. Feel free to suggest to them that if you even hear a hint that they badmouthed you to any future employer, or potential employer that you will seek compensation.
I had a similar situation happen to me. My asshole of a supervisor said I HAD to give them more time I changed my date from 2 weeks to one week, he decided to make it immediate and I had a nice little vacation between jobs.
I understand he has since been fired.
You can't trust someone who is going to threaten you.
Why give in to their tactics though? From what the original post has to say, it sounds like if he gives them an inch, they'll try to take a mile.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Ask them what the company policy is regarding giving references. Explain you are worried because of what your manager has said.
HR exists to protect the company. Your manager is jeopardising the company since any unfairly poor reference would leave the company open to legal action. HR won't like his actions.
I'd do it the other way.
contact new job, "Can I start today instead?"
if yes, go into old bosses office tell him to shove it up his ass sideways, you're filing a lawsuit on him if he says ANYTHING other than that you worked there, and walk out right now with zero notice.
Catering to an asshole empowers the asshole. Smacking an asshole is just plain old fun.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
As an aside, it is quite possible that no one above your manager (presuming it was he/she that threatened you) is aware of this stupid intimidation tactic.
This is very true. This happened in my company, also in a software group, also in an at-will state. The person affected fortunately liked his coworkers but just hated mgmt and wanted out. Fortunately he also had a GF in the same company (in my group), and she leaked out what was happening and our own manager said that's against company policy and grounds for dismissal, that he should go to HR. They aren't his friend, but they exist for this purpose.
Well it turns out this was just a desperate manager, at the end of her leash. She was not fired, but was removed and her bluff called.
My opinion is to discuss with HR, but give them the 3 weeks you promised them, and leave. It's unlikely they'll report any of this to people asking about your references (at least in the US), and you clearly need to leave that company anyway.
Two weeks? If someone pulled this shit on me, I'd tell them "Gee, then I don't see a reason to give any notice then" and walk out.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Step 1) Send an e-mail (BCC your home e-mail) stating that you have given three weeks notice but got the impression you were required to stay a longer term.
Step 2) Keep a copy of it's response. If they say "hey we want you to stay longer" great. Send yourself a copy.
Step 3) In the future when a potential employer says "why don't you want to use these guys as a reference" show him the letters "hey they did like me, they wanted me to stay more then three weeks notice".
Employment at will also means you can quit whenever you want. You fired your company and gave them 3 weeks notice. If they fired you would you get 3 weeks notice?
I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
I'd say do this. Forcing people to accept and further their bluff is a completely legitimate tactic.
If the new employer will take you sooner, you should tell the boss that if you're getting a bad review anyway, you'll just leave tomorrow and they'll be screwed all around. Tell him and HR that, given his threat, you want it in writing that you'll get an appropriate review in the future or you're walking tomorrow.
They will have to respond in some sense, because unless you're useless they need you or they lose money.
-- business owner. Trust me here.
Good luck with that,
-Josh
or he's very politically connected (which is unlikely if he's stupid enough to try a move like this).
The large majority of the most successful people I've seen in the corporate world are stupid, egotistical, loud-mouthed bullies who live their lives without an ounce of introspection or regret. Mostly due to the complete and total lack of repercussions they receive for being so.
You send out that email and he'll probably get a promotion.
I don't understand it either - but I've seen things go that way often enough to understand that that's the way it works.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
I worked once for a national-chain retail computer store, as their lead technician in the tech shop at one of the stores. This chain had a knee-jerk reaction to slow sales: lay off whoever is making the most money.
Never mind that it is an asinine strategy... it actually does work for positions like cashier, because they can always grab another person off the street, give them a day of training, and voila... a new cashier. Trying to tell them this strategy does NOT work with educated & certified techs fell on deaf ears.
So, guess what? We had a slow couple of months. And I made the most money in my department. So I was called in one day to the manager's office, where I was read a list of completely bogus complaints from other store managers: not just exaggerations but things that never actually happened. I was told these complaints were going in my employee file and that if I wanted to stay on with the store, I would have to take a $6/hr. pay cut.
I was furious. By law in my state, I have the right to examine and reply to anything that is in my employee records. So I went home with a copy of these "complaints", and wrote up a detailed and carefully worded reply, including solid evidence that 2 out of the 3 complaints were completely false, and casting doubt on the 3rd. It was false too... I just did not have much evidence to back up my side of the story.
I took this in to the manager's office, and demanded that my reply be put into my employee file. He told me okay (as he had to, under law). But... I got access to my file a month or so later, and my reply was not in the file. It had "mysteriously disappeared".
A week or so later, we had a visit from the corporate HR person. Very nice lady. Always "on our side", etc. After the formal meeting I went to her with my story, told her that I had a copy of my reply to the complaints, and I would like to make sure it got in my file. She told me to give her the copy, and she would see to it personally.
Yeah, right. Of course it never made it in there.
I quit not long after that, for a better job. But I learned: don't rely on HR. They can be slaves to the people who pay their checks... it is a position that is very close to having a built-in conflict of interest. No doubt some are legitimate, but don't count on it.
Just as an aside: after I left, that manager was caught embezzling. He had created fake employees and was somehow managing to put their paychecks in his own bank account(s).
I wouldn't go to HR without going to a lawyer first.
Your essentially telling the company that you suspect wrong doing and possibly illegal behavior from the management directly over you and that you demand proper action.
The problem with that is you have brought up a legal threat to them that comes from you personally. Their first reaction is probably going to be to forward the letter to a legal department or a supervisor over them who will and then the company will attempt to protect itself from "you" suing them. Instead of you just being a "whistle blower" in this case, you are or could be the hostile party from their perspective. They will have to make a choice, cover their asses from liability or support you and hope you don't sue. There's probably a few other choices too but their fist inclination is probably going to be self preservation which means amassing a ton of information against you to paint you as a disgruntled employee upset with something else with an objective that may be to financially harm the company by fraudulent statements. At this point, any disciplinary actions they take against the manager in question will support your position so expect it to be you gone with him staying until they can find another reason to punish or fire your supervisor.
Speaking with a competent lawyer first could secure an accurate and proper copy of your record which heads off this burnt bridges campaign when they figure your intentions out. It will pretty mush leave them with the only appropriate action to be supporting you instead of the company. However, the lawyer will know better the we do on what is at stake and how to proceed. Reporting something like this can have legal ramifications for at least on of the parties and legal benefits for you so exploring those issues in order to limit destructive behavior is more then appropriate. Even if they stand on your side of things, after five years or so, the manager may be in a better position to react to a grudge over the demotion he received or the promotion he never got because of that shit.
If you took a job where working around the laws of thermodynamics was part of the job description, you deserve to be fired.
yeah but how often do you sign up for a job where the actual role is exactly described by the job spec?