118 Uber employees in SF have resigned/put in notice since the weekend | Hacker News Reader

118 Uber employees in SF have resigned/put in notice since the weekend

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97 pointskevinburke21 comments

Is this actually verified? I have no idea what Blind board is.

It's like what Secret was, and should be treated with the same skepticism.

So basically we have to believe someone in HR relatively high up (to get total numbers) at Uber would want to leak this anonymously for no reason?

If true that's a lot of people to lose from the HQ. I smell a class-action lawsuit, there's a lot of blood in the water (not solely from this episode) and Uber has deep pockets. I wonder if Uber can change its internal culture rapidly enough to maintain its market lead or if competitors will find a way to take advantage of its woes.

I'd imagine a class action lawsuit is unlikely, as Uber is the kind of company to force an arbitration clause in their employee contract.

> I'd imagine a class-action lawsuit is unlikely, as Uber is the kind of company to force an arbitration clause in their employee contract.

A company cannot force arbitration on their employees. That's preposterous. A corporation can't force arbitration on their customers either.

According to https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/business/dealbook/arbitra... corporations can and do force arbitration to employees and customers. One of the reasons to do this is that it prevents class action lawsuits.

For class action lawsuits, the supreme court ruled arbitration clauses are legal and enforceable on customers and employees in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (2011).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Mobility_LLC_v._Concepc...

A SV company I worked for included an arbitration clause in their employment contract, specifically referencing any dispute involving the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Does anyone have context for this?

see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13710712

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13682022

If this is related to current events, then it would most likely be related to https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-on...

This is astonishing! Regardless of whether it's related to the other departures, it sounds unbelievable.

> It became obvious that both HR and management had been lying about this being "his first offense", and it certainly wasn't his last.

Wow, at what point do you hire an attorney and bring a suit? I don't know anything about sexual harassment but this smacks of something that only punitive damages could correct.

You always hear that "HR is not your friend" [because they are looking out for the company's best interest, which might not align with yours]. But when the perpetrator of harassment goes unpunished, certainly they're no longer looking out for the best interests of the company anymore. Do private equity firms audit their investments for this kind of craziness? What a way to absolutely destroy a brand while losing lots of money.

Assuming this is as described, two things need to happen:

1) Ms Fowler needs to get a lawyer. 2) That lawyer needs to tell her to STFU.

Why? I really don't think she has anything to fear from Uber. And if you read her post, she doesn't seem interested in devoting the next phase of her life litigating and reliving that experience -- it is very clear that she's moved on.

"I really don't think she has anything to fear from Uber."

The people she describes (who may or may not have any relation to actual Uber employees) sound like exactly the sort of people who would launch a defamation lawsuit, whether there were actual grounds for it or not.

" And if you read her post, she doesn't seem interested in devoting the next phase of her life litigating and reliving that experience"

Plans change, and having a credible countersuit waiting in the wings can be a useful thing, whether or not it ever actually gets deployed.

I repeat: I would recommend that she talk to a lawyer immediately.

Defamation lawsuit would just draw way more attention and prolong this story for even longer. Litigating against her without some really really good evidence would be ridiculous

Interesting, I wonder how far this can go? I'd guess that if you're not making a mint, or likely to, then your motivation to stick around must be fading by the day.

This could easily have been made up

Ironic that a man who once bragged how he could attain any woman's attention will now be ruined by it.

Which man are you referring to? edit: nevermind, just saw the NYT article

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