They only have the possibility of forcing arbitration on a contractual dispute initiated by you.
They cannot prevent you from pursuing remedy or suing them in the courts, if the claim is they actually violated employment
or other laws (that's not a contractual dispute).
They can only force arbitration on you if you or the claimant.
If they already paid you severance, and now they want to take the $$$ back, because they say
you weren't reasonably available, then you can refuse their arbitration, and insist upon your
constitutionally protected right to a jury trial for their civil claims.
I am not a lawyer I know that you are wrong, you can of course sign away your right to sue.
No... not really. it's not your right to sue that you can sign away. You can sign away your right to compensation for damages related to specific matters, that's about it: you still have the right to go through the judicial process (and probably foot your opponent's legal bill), even if the likely outcome will be against you.
Insurance companies write those sorts of agreements all the time, where the buyer of a certain kind of policy is protected but loses a right to claim certain damages, and instead, their insurance company gets to be the plaintiff in court and collect any damages through subrogation.
You always have the right to come back to court. The question is only going to be, will the judge be willing to even consider your case, with depends on the merits of your specific situation, and is it likely to end in your favor.
If you sue without a leg to stand on, there can be all sorts of negative consequences in the end, such as penalties for abusing the judicial process, and rights to damages you signed away can eliminate your legs to stand on.
"you won't even talk to a lawyer about us, including this severance package or you forfeit all the money in this package including the stuff we've already paid you."
It's not possible to legally sign away your right to counsel in this manner.
What you have there is called an unconscionable contract term.
No matter what the language says, meetings with your attorney are legally privileged.
You can still discuss or show as much information as you like in a secure private
location under duty of confidentiality, with your conusel, and show it to your lawyer with total confidence.
I suppose the only reason to do so, would be if you think you have a bonafide legal claim against the previous employer.
Even a 'promise not to sue' the previous employer might not actually be enforceable.
If, for example, the employer did something illegal (such as discrimination based on race in setting salary), or other employees received this payment who had no reason to sue, or the severance payment was expected compensation, then after suing on the other claim, the plaintiff could be awarded that claim, plus possibly a claim for any severance the employer attempted to withhold.
Ultimately, a good employment lawyer would be able to suggest the best course.
If there is a legitimate claim though, then most likely no normal severance would really deter suing.
It's probably more of a psychological trick to dissuade any employee who might have some sort of claim or beef from pursuing it.
Didn't ask for anything, but it would be completely reasonable if they did ask for some help during those 3 months.
What would not be fair would be for them to try to use the severance to "retain you" to do 3 months worth of work perpetually at any unknown date in the future.
Presumably, within a short period of time, you will have a new job, because you need a new job to support yourself, And any attempt to pull you off your other work for a while to help them out of a bind; would unreasonably harm you.
About the only thing they could reasonably do would be to give you a few 5 minute calls to politely ask if you happened to remember the root password.
Yeah.... combine this with giving their replacement incomplete training, or
showing them obvious ways of doing things that are not "your refined/optimized method"
and are certain to get them into trouble eventually, and you have a killer.
If nothing of value is offered in return, it's not a contract.
If nothing of value is being offered to you, and you've already been informed you are being severed, then you should just refuse to sign.
A severance agreement is supposed to involve compensation.
If there's no compensation, benefit, or protection being provided to you, then it makes no sense to sign, just because they'd like to see it signed.
Sellers would send the "reviewers" an empty box so that the review would show up as a verified purchase.
That's what I would call fraud..... the review system had specific rules, and they used a technical workaround to intentionally add a false verification of purchase, then.
If the product was received for free, then they should be "Verified product owner", and "Reviewed in exchange for award or free product from Manufacturer", not "Verified purchaser"
I'm indifferent about it. The reviewer should be required to disclose that they received product or a promise for compensation for writing reviews.
Once they do so, their product reviews should be tagged with a Review by Paid Reviewer tag.
A star rating should not appear for the product, until there are enough reviews by non-compensated reviewers. Once they are, the compensated reviews should be kept separate, and an additional star rating should be shown that takes into account only verified purchasers.
On a pitching, rocking ship in the middle of the sea, with a sky that may have cloud coverage so you don't have much choice in the stars that you can shoot?
Why not leave the visual range, and use passive microwave, UV, IR, and radio wave sensors?
The clouds mostly block visible light, but there is a much broader spectrum of particle emissions from the sun to earth than the naked eye can perceive.
A predictor circuit permits advanced execution of instructions depending for their data on previous instructions by predicting such dependencies based on previous mis-speculations detected at the final stages of processing. Synchronization of dependent instructions is provided by a table creating entries for each instance of potential dependency. [....]
They patented basic CPU caching with a simple refinement.
This should probably have been thrown out as obvious to any CPU designer;......
Of course adding additional tables and such is a refinement; this type of methods are obvious and get implemented by designers, constrained mostly by the cost of additional components.
but anyone who tries to patent rounded courners and then sues deserves to lose patent lawsuits.
Apple did a lame job in protecting their IP: patenting smart corners, instead of something more vital about their type of product, such as the concept of an integrated app store, and the kind of applications they brought to the platform, but the iPhone, their implementation of the smartphone truly was an innovation that got stolen by now competitors (e.g. Android).....
I'm not sure why they bothered with superficial patents on things like the shape of the device's packaging, which was probably the least-important aspect of the product beyond initial marketing and making the device look 'cool' to prospective buyers.
I see nothing about it being flammable, but a skin irritant, and probably a few drops released would do them in, anyways ----
them, and anyone within a few hundred yards.
You won't see any ".fuck" or ".nigger" extensions for a good reason.
No, But file extensions are traditionally 3 characters, and there are common file extensions called:.FU,.DAM,.NIG, and.SHI.
They don't mean anything bad, and there's nothing evil intended by them.
File extension namespace is limited enough as is with only 3 alphabetic characters allowed
There is a difference between choosing an extension that is non-ambiguous and 100% identical to a swear word or slur,
And one that could be misinterpreted as such by an utterly clueless person who didn't bother to confirm the purpose of the ext.
Yep.... Different programming languages have different merits.
"Rewrite everything in X" or "use X for all new work" is a bad idea, unless all the things you are writing happen to be most suitable for X.
I can see switching from Java to Python, as they have a very similar use case.
I think recoding C code into Python just to standardize on a language, would be insanely idiotic.
Choose the best language for each job.
If you have a choice: standardize on a few best of breed languages for all common jobs.....
more often than not, in the real world, you have to maintain code that wasn't written in the ideal language for the job.
because now a single-source component is no longer single-source!
This is great, only if in fact the specifications are identical. If one of your sources has a defective, slower, or less-efficient component that impairs the product, then it sucks for the customer who gets the bad luck of the draw.
Different model #'s detectable in software, but not listed on the package.
Tell the employee, you need to get an iPhone with the Samsung 14nm version of the A9 processor.
As soon as you get it, inspect it, and if it is found to have the 16nm TSMC chip, then promptly return the unit at the store for a refund, or keep exchanging, until you get a 14nm one.
That's just the diagnostic port.
There are other places you can possibly create a permanent connection to the bus that will be in a more obscure and difficult to find or tamper with, location.
host data for them and for the US based companies to have absolutely no control over the servers.
Not the servers; the physical servers are irrelevent. For the US based companies to have absolutely no access to the decryption keys that are used to protect user files.... they can use that by performing decryptions in a HSM which is physically tied to a location
At that point, the only thing the US government could order them to do would be to modify DNS entries to route users' traffic through the US or make specific modifications the internals of their websites' application code to expose a backdoor (or generate a datafeed) for authorities, and implement that backdoor in all versions of their site, no matter what provider is hosting their site.
Slashdot Mirror
They only have the possibility of forcing arbitration on a contractual dispute initiated by you.
They cannot prevent you from pursuing remedy or suing them in the courts, if the claim is they actually violated employment or other laws (that's not a contractual dispute).
They can only force arbitration on you if you or the claimant. If they already paid you severance, and now they want to take the $$$ back, because they say you weren't reasonably available, then you can refuse their arbitration, and insist upon your constitutionally protected right to a jury trial for their civil claims.
I am not a lawyer I know that you are wrong, you can of course sign away your right to sue.
No... not really. it's not your right to sue that you can sign away. You can sign away your right to compensation for damages related to specific matters, that's about it: you still have the right to go through the judicial process (and probably foot your opponent's legal bill), even if the likely outcome will be against you.
Insurance companies write those sorts of agreements all the time, where the buyer of a certain kind of policy is protected but loses a right to claim certain damages, and instead, their insurance company gets to be the plaintiff in court and collect any damages through subrogation.
You always have the right to come back to court. The question is only going to be, will the judge be willing to even consider your case, with depends on the merits of your specific situation, and is it likely to end in your favor.
If you sue without a leg to stand on, there can be all sorts of negative consequences in the end, such as penalties for abusing the judicial process, and rights to damages you signed away can eliminate your legs to stand on.
Just like the clauses that say you cant go work for a competitor.
Often those clauses are fully enforceable on a severance agreement, Or if presented at the time of hiring, or as a condition of an increase in pay.
They might not be enforceable, if signature is being coerced and no compensation is offered for signing the no-compete.
"you won't even talk to a lawyer about us, including this severance package or you forfeit all the money in this package including the stuff we've already paid you."
It's not possible to legally sign away your right to counsel in this manner. What you have there is called an unconscionable contract term.
No matter what the language says, meetings with your attorney are legally privileged.
You can still discuss or show as much information as you like in a secure private location under duty of confidentiality, with your conusel, and show it to your lawyer with total confidence.
I suppose the only reason to do so, would be if you think you have a bonafide legal claim against the previous employer.
Even a 'promise not to sue' the previous employer might not actually be enforceable. If, for example, the employer did something illegal (such as discrimination based on race in setting salary), or other employees received this payment who had no reason to sue, or the severance payment was expected compensation, then after suing on the other claim, the plaintiff could be awarded that claim, plus possibly a claim for any severance the employer attempted to withhold.
Ultimately, a good employment lawyer would be able to suggest the best course. If there is a legitimate claim though, then most likely no normal severance would really deter suing.
It's probably more of a psychological trick to dissuade any employee who might have some sort of claim or beef from pursuing it.
Didn't ask for anything, but it would be completely reasonable if they did ask for some help during those 3 months.
What would not be fair would be for them to try to use the severance to "retain you" to do 3 months worth of work perpetually at any unknown date in the future.
Presumably, within a short period of time, you will have a new job, because you need a new job to support yourself, And any attempt to pull you off your other work for a while to help them out of a bind; would unreasonably harm you.
About the only thing they could reasonably do would be to give you a few 5 minute calls to politely ask if you happened to remember the root password.
Yeah.... combine this with giving their replacement incomplete training, or showing them obvious ways of doing things that are not "your refined/optimized method" and are certain to get them into trouble eventually, and you have a killer.
If nothing of value is offered in return, it's not a contract.
If nothing of value is being offered to you, and you've already been informed you are being severed, then you should just refuse to sign.
A severance agreement is supposed to involve compensation. If there's no compensation, benefit, or protection being provided to you, then it makes no sense to sign, just because they'd like to see it signed.
Sellers would send the "reviewers" an empty box so that the review would show up as a verified purchase.
That's what I would call fraud..... the review system had specific rules, and they used a technical workaround to intentionally add a false verification of purchase, then.
If the product was received for free, then they should be "Verified product owner", and "Reviewed in exchange for award or free product from Manufacturer", not "Verified purchaser"
I'm indifferent about it. The reviewer should be required to disclose that they received product or a promise for compensation for writing reviews.
Once they do so, their product reviews should be tagged with a Review by Paid Reviewer tag.
A star rating should not appear for the product, until there are enough reviews by non-compensated reviewers. Once they are, the compensated reviews should be kept separate, and an additional star rating should be shown that takes into account only verified purchasers.
input measurements into a computer.
Computers break or become unavailable due to loss of power, moisture ingress, or due to being hit with an EMP
Computers are also not very effective for navigating life rafts, when there are no batteries to power the computer.
On a pitching, rocking ship in the middle of the sea, with a sky that may have cloud coverage so you don't have much choice in the stars that you can shoot?
Why not leave the visual range, and use passive microwave, UV, IR, and radio wave sensors?
The clouds mostly block visible light, but there is a much broader spectrum of particle emissions from the sun to earth than the naked eye can perceive.
Sounds like a great toy for the brave new driverless car future.
That also makes it highly illegal. Under FCC regulations, nobody can engage in willful or malicious radio interference.
Even members of law enforcement wielding one would be subject to jail time and huge fines for operating one....
They patented basic CPU caching with a simple refinement.
This should probably have been thrown out as obvious to any CPU designer; ......
Of course adding additional tables and such is a refinement; this type of methods are obvious and get implemented by designers, constrained mostly by the cost of additional components.
but anyone who tries to patent rounded courners and then sues deserves to lose patent lawsuits.
Apple did a lame job in protecting their IP: patenting smart corners, instead of something more vital about their type of product, such as the concept of an integrated app store, and the kind of applications they brought to the platform, but the iPhone, their implementation of the smartphone truly was an innovation that got stolen by now competitors (e.g. Android).....
I'm not sure why they bothered with superficial patents on things like the shape of the device's packaging, which was probably the least-important aspect of the product beyond initial marketing and making the device look 'cool' to prospective buyers.
Isn't that stuff flamable?
I see nothing about it being flammable, but a skin irritant, and probably a few drops released would do them in, anyways ---- them, and anyone within a few hundred yards.
You won't see any ".fuck" or ".nigger" extensions for a good reason.
No, But file extensions are traditionally 3 characters, and there are common file extensions called: .FU, .DAM, .NIG, and .SHI.
They don't mean anything bad, and there's nothing evil intended by them. File extension namespace is limited enough as is with only 3 alphabetic characters allowed
There is a difference between choosing an extension that is non-ambiguous and 100% identical to a swear word or slur, And one that could be misinterpreted as such by an utterly clueless person who didn't bother to confirm the purpose of the ext.
Officers don airtight headgear, and spray a 2-liter canister of thioacetone on the suspect. That should prove most effective.
Yep.... Different programming languages have different merits. "Rewrite everything in X" or "use X for all new work" is a bad idea, unless all the things you are writing happen to be most suitable for X.
I can see switching from Java to Python, as they have a very similar use case. I think recoding C code into Python just to standardize on a language, would be insanely idiotic.
Choose the best language for each job.
If you have a choice: standardize on a few best of breed languages for all common jobs..... more often than not, in the real world, you have to maintain code that wasn't written in the ideal language for the job.
People conceding to irrational objections, just because it will avoid bothering unreasonable people.
Why? Because it sets a detrimental precedent that other developers should do the same.
Then suddenly, we're going to have to get rid of programs like "Bash" as a login shell, because it sounds so violent.
Also, "Master Slave" clustering/replication schemes are going to need to be renamed, because the reference to 'Slave server' may offend people.
My phone is still an iPhone 4S.
because now a single-source component is no longer single-source!
This is great, only if in fact the specifications are identical. If one of your sources has a defective, slower, or less-efficient component that impairs the product, then it sucks for the customer who gets the bad luck of the draw.
Different model #'s detectable in software, but not listed on the package.
Tell the employee, you need to get an iPhone with the Samsung 14nm version of the A9 processor.
As soon as you get it, inspect it, and if it is found to have the 16nm TSMC chip, then promptly return the unit at the store for a refund, or keep exchanging, until you get a 14nm one.
That's just the diagnostic port. There are other places you can possibly create a permanent connection to the bus that will be in a more obscure and difficult to find or tamper with, location.
Exceeding the speed limit in short bursts is necessary (and legal) if you are overtaking slower-moving vehicles.
Define "short burst" ?
No more than 10% over the speed limit for no more than 1.5 seconds per 60 minutes?
host data for them and for the US based companies to have absolutely no control over the servers.
Not the servers; the physical servers are irrelevent. For the US based companies to have absolutely no access to the decryption keys that are used to protect user files.... they can use that by performing decryptions in a HSM which is physically tied to a location
At that point, the only thing the US government could order them to do would be to modify DNS entries to route users' traffic through the US or make specific modifications the internals of their websites' application code to expose a backdoor (or generate a datafeed) for authorities, and implement that backdoor in all versions of their site, no matter what provider is hosting their site.