Saying that a former employee violating a non-disparagement agreement means that it's now a good idea for the company to take use an eye-for-an-eye policy in return? -- What.
No (American) non-executive employees should ever be forced to sign anything. I never have for any job. Employers are in too powerful of a position by default.
I've signed these before, and I was under no impression that I was being forced.
https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2iea97/i_am_a_former_r...
This guy is an idiot and is likely going to have a hard time finding a job based on this behavior. What he's doing isn't illegal, but it's quite unprofessional.
2. That's not what he said. The former employee speculated that he was laid off in retaliation for something or other; and the company replied with the actual reason for his termination in its own defense.
In general, if you were laid off or fired from a job, it's best not to spout off about it in public (especially on the site that used to employ you). It doesn't matter whether you signed anything or not; unless your former employer was doing something illegal and you're blowing the whistle, it's best to keep your mouth shut.
I see no reason a rational executive would feel compelled to raise the profile of the issue by responding at all, much less in this dramatic fashion.
Moral of the story is that if you just got fired from reddit, you probably shouldn't go on reddit to do an AMA about it.
Was this the best way to respond? Probably not. Did it warrant some kind of response? Probably.
Companies wasting money isn't an unusual theme, either. Even on the days I've been happiest in my employment, I could probably name you a half dozen ways in which I believed the my employer(s) were spending unwise amounts of money on things they shouldn't be.
There's no way an employer can force you to sign a non-disparagement agreement (or do anything else) after they've fired you - what can they do to you, fire you again? The ex-employee gets something in return (a "consideration" in legalese) for signing the non-disparagement agreement. For example, the company agrees not to say bad things about the employee, gives them severance pay, etc. In return for severance pay, the employee usually also signs a "general release" which absolves the company from any legal liability (wrongful dismissal suit, etc.).