Former employees list all the stuff you need to do as soon as possible
http://www.hpalumni.org/asap
6 replies (most recent on top)
Why would you show up?
wow... that is unbelievable they do that. This is wake up call for all those that are still employed with this company (and may be other companies too?)
“Evaluations. Print out copies of your performance evaluations. Many report that their performance rating suddenly and inexplicably dropped just before they left.”
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What is being implied here is, when they decide to lay you off, before they tell you that you are laid off, they go and tweak your past “grades”. That “A” you got 3 years ago? Now listed as a “C”… The “B” you got 2 years ago? Now a “D”, and so on. Why? In case you sue for age discrimination or other discrimination! “See? We were TOTALLY justified in picking YOU to be laid off, because you are a documented slacker!”
So pull copies of your reviews NOW, before they decide to lay you off!!!
Hey, did y’all notice something peculiar listed at…
http://www.hpalumni.org/asap ???
That is, this being a straight-laced web site, not prone to conspiracy theories about black helicopters and what-not… It STILL says THIS:
“Evaluations. Print out copies of your performance evaluations. Many report that their performance rating suddenly and inexplicably dropped just before they left.”
I did 9 patents. Got laid-off. Got a letter in the mail saying "Your are commanded to appear in the District Court" etc etc. That's all on your dime. Having the patents is kind of cool, but there is a risk.
It's kinda obscure, but...
Add to your checklist, do NOT bother to do ANY work on your patents or patents pending (patents submissions that are still active) during this time!!! They are NOT going to pay you ANYTHING that they have promised!
Why? Because, after you do all of the hard work of translating your invention from engineer-speak to patent-lawyer-speak… Or rather, supporting the contracted lawyers who do this… After you get it all done, and the paperwork is sent off to Washington DC (or equivalent overseas I suppose), THAT is when HPE owes you money! But it will take a week or two (maybe more?) for them to process your bonus check… And THAT is when they will lay you off! Pay you nothing, but keep the patent for themselves. I bet this is all squared away legally in their fine print… But ethically, of course, it SUKKS!!! In other words, any time HPE owes you another dime or two, they have more incentive to lay you off!
(In other words, I got messed over by being told I would be laid off, while I this was in patent-filed-but- I-was-not-yet-paid process.) If I got messed over that way, you are SURE to get messed over if continue to work on your patent stuff AFTER you are notified of being laid off!
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If you are a saintly person, and want to do it for your co-workers' benefits, co-worker friends who are co-inventors, you have my permission to do so! Tee-he-he! But you also have my permission to ask them for a kick-back from their money (assuming they won't get laid off, too, here), since they will be paid the patent rewards that they were promised, and you will not!