Submission + - Displaced US Technology Workers Resist Nondisparagement Agreements (nytimes.com)
dangle writes: The New York Times writes about a group of recently laid-off Abbott technology employees from the Chicago area, including Marco Peña's refusal to sign a nondisparagement agreement, a decision he says cost him nearly $10,000.
US corporate executives have worked publicly to defend their use of H-1B visas to Congress and the public, but US workers who have lost jobs to global outsourcing companies have been largely silent out of concern that any criticism of their past employers will be viewed as violation of nondisparagement agreements required as part of their severance packages.
Members of Congress from both major parties have questioned these agreements, and have proposed revisions to visa laws to include measures allowing former employees to contest their layoffs.
US corporate executives have worked publicly to defend their use of H-1B visas to Congress and the public, but US workers who have lost jobs to global outsourcing companies have been largely silent out of concern that any criticism of their past employers will be viewed as violation of nondisparagement agreements required as part of their severance packages.
Members of Congress from both major parties have questioned these agreements, and have proposed revisions to visa laws to include measures allowing former employees to contest their layoffs.
