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Comment by pvg | Hacker News Reader

For all the people saying 'HR works for the company' and 'She should have sued!', I think you're underestimating how difficult that is to do. You're reading the account of a person who was clearly perfectly aware of her rights and how corporate workspaces operate.

What would you actually do in their position? You leave work one evening, go home and google 'lawyer that will get me lots of money from my company and work for free while I'm out of a job using nothing but my certitude I will prevail to pay rent'? Nobody (statistically) does that. In the 99% case, you'd try to make it work and then you'd find another job. As it turned out.

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No - employee lawsuits are not that uncommon. The vast majority are settled before they see the inside of courtroom. The majority that do go to a courtroom go the employees way unfortunately for employers in frivolous cases. Talking to a labour law attorney to consult about your case is not that expensive - if you have an open and shut case most lawyers will want to work on a contingency fee anyways.

I'm happy to hear more about this, is this something you've personally done or represented someone in such a case? What steps should one take in such a situation, if you have experience in it?

To some degree... my Uncle sued Fedex, his employer at the time, for unsafe working conditions about 10 years ago after being injured on the job. I'd actually call his lawsuit frivolous but he received a very large sum of money from it. About 5 years ago I used an attorney to communicate with my previous employer about a contract they had broken by not paying the agreed severance compensation.

Im not sure why in this situation you would not consult with an attorney to explore your legal options? Consulting with an attorney and at least initially engaging in a legal discourse with your previous employer is really not that expensive and many times if you have a viable case the legal costs are paid only by a successful settlement. Im not sure what she has to lose here besides seeing if she can get a lawyer to take it on contingency and time documenting the damages.

My honest guess is that IF she has documentation, having an attorney engage Uber would just result in some form of settlement to not have it go into court.

I'd say 'my uncle (not me) in a personal injury lawsuit' and 'I used a lawyer in a contract dispute that ended right there' is a very different setting from 'this is my job that i'd like to keep'.

I don't mean this is merely or even at all a matter of practical difficulty. Few people go home and toss in bed thinking about how they can sue their employer. I find 'she should have just sued' is pretty glib and why I ask "have you done that"? I don't think it's an easy thing and simply throwing it at someone who's taken the time to publicly describe their experience is rather missing the point.

Actually I lied Im a lawyer and have represented many class action lawsuits over my 50 years of experience and my assumption is that you are as well. Happy now?... Look, its very accessible to contact a lawyer and be professionally consulted about your legal options especially for someone who is compensated at the level of an engineer. Personally if I experienced the things exclaimed here Id be tossing in bed thinking about how to sue my employer. I agree that its personally challenging to pursue legal action... but I think supporting and encouraging people who may deserve legal retribution is responsible.

Very well.

Engineers, especially the ones at Susan's level, are pretty well paid. Suing would have definitely been an option for her.

What is the last lawsuit you voluntarily started? A lot of things are 'an option'.

As a typical white male my life is surprisingly easy even when it is not easy. I've never been wronged the way Susan was so I've never had to think about suing anyone really.

Very well.

yes, but "does it make financial sense?" is always the question.

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