Hacker News Reader

Comment by kemiller2002 | Hacker News Reader

kemiller2002·

Honestly, not really. It sucks, but from a risk management perspective, less information given out is always better. Was she fired for legit reasons? Who knows. There is no advantage to the employer to give reasons. You can't really blame anyone for trying not to be sued.

View on HN

I'd say the dick move is firing someone without any kind of coaching or explanation about what you'd like to see done differently. The coaching should have happened well in advance of the firing.

A firing that comes as a complete surprise to the employee is generally a sign of a bad manager (not always, but true enough to be a useful heuristic).

I guess there could be some improvements, such as a right to feedback law (protections for both parties), make it harder to legally fire someone but easier if it's a real democratic team decision, better short term unemployment benefits.

Knowingly hurting someone else in order to avoid the risk of getting sued is a dick move.

It's a selfish, rational dick move, but most are. People rarely do dick moves that don't benefit themselves.

However, life isn't all about avoiding risk. Sometimes you should seek out risk to make you a better person. Or, if you're part of a company, to make you a better company. Telling people why they weren't hired / were fired helps them improve, and taken to the limit, it helps the entire society improve.

What could be a legit reason that could've given credence to a lawsuit?

If the reason was: "You're a woman" then they should've been sued.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com