VestingBurn

Maybe... It depends on how effective the lawyer is on brokering some sort of compensation without going public or involving the courts. In many issues, both parties would rather avoid the court system however it seems to require a lawyer to get to the negotiating table.

I suspect this is on the minds of many replying with the advice to go to a lawyer.

I hope that is true but so far, what I've found is that due to CA being an "at will" state, you can be fired at any time for any reason. That is what makes the 1 year option cliff daunting in CA. I think some startups view it as we can get away with anything in that first year due to the threat of termination before the options vest.

I tend not to put so much weight on options but it is an interesting issue.

But to get back to your post, was there anything in particular you were thinking of? I'm just not sure what to look for or if this is more the kind of thing it is hard to know about without being in employment law.

I don't disagree. It's interesting seeing this angle on it though:

https://zachholman.com/posts/fired/

But again, I don't disagree with you. There is a lot of grey around in being fired and people tend to believe authority over non-authority (for good or bad, that seems to be the case).

I think you nailed the biggest issue with being an engineer in startup land. The interests just aren't aligned.

Well said. Thanks.

How does one do this without looking like a heckler on the side of the road that nobody is going to pay attention to?

When you file for unemployment, an employee from the government contacts you and the employer. The employer can claim you were fired for a reason. Then the claim is automatically denied unless you contest it. When you contest it, you appear before a local judge. It's just you, the judge, and the other party (in this case, my manager). They present their argument and you present yours.

In this case, they really tried to throw tons of things at me (some I had contradicting evidence in non-work email however I had no idea they would make such wild claims). The judge forced them to narrow it down to the top 3-4. For these items, the judge heard one side and then the other. Then we had closing arguments.

Apparently, many people who are denied unemployment do not contest it. But in my experience, it was very straight forward. I did not need a lawyer. I stayed calm and presented my side.

The very next day I received a letter informing me that I had won and by the wording it was clear the judge sided completely with me. Of course, that was just for unemployment however it was a very satisfactory experience.

Thanks -- this actually happened end of February. I decided to wait until I was in a good place before asking.

This was my experience too. I took the vacation pay but passed on signing the non-disparagement paperwork. The later paperwork was offered with a couple of weeks of pay incentive.

Yes, I misused the term. Their actions were within the scope of the agreement.