
Ask HN: My former employer is harassing me for meeting with competitors - bonjour314
I quit my job. I grabbed coffee with founders of competing startups in our space to explore job opportunities with them. The former employer&#x27;s lawyers wrote letters to me, as well as to the competitors, threatening that I am violating my IP agreements.<p>Should I find a lawyer? Any recommendations for specific ones?<p>Also, the CEO and I negotiated my return to the company after I quit. He gave me a verbal agreement to bring me back under certain terms. On the day I was supposed to be onboarded back, he called me and told me they won&#x27;t be brining me back, and denied that we ever reached any agreement to bring me back.<p>Fwiw, I created a critical part of their proprietary technology.
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greenyoda
Yes, I think you should find a lawyer to review whatever contracts you may
have signed with your former employer. The lawyer can tell you which
provisions of these contracts (if any) are enforceable in your state, and
possibly write a letter to your ex-employer's lawyers telling them to back
off.

But how did they find out that you had met with a competitor? And how could
they know that you're violating any agreement if they don't know what you
discussed with the competitor?

> Also, the CEO and I negotiated my return to the company after I quit. He
> gave me a verbal agreement to bring me back under certain terms. On the day
> I was supposed to be onboarded back, he called me and told me they won't be
> brining me back, and denied that we ever reached any agreement to bring me
> back.

You could also ask your lawyer about this. But why would you want to go back
to work for an employer who is currently threatening you with legal action?

