International Bullying Machine? Big Blue seeks exposure of corporate canary IBM has demanded the name of the person who leaked an internal document that appeared to show the company was deliberately targeting and firing older workers. The demand by Big Blue's lawyers comes in a lawsuit brought by one of those that was pushed out, Jonathan Langley, who is suing his old company for age discrimination …
If the lawyers are so good, how come they let Big Blue get into this mess in the first place?
Seriously though, if any industry ever needed severe regulation its the judicial system. Rather than deal with the plaintiff's core issue, lawyers are able to charge 10x $k's arguing legal technicalities, and the judges let them get away with it because when all is said and done, they're part of the same crowd. This case could collapse because the plaintiff simply can't afford to see it through, compared with the corporations vast financial resources.
"It's an abuse of the legal system and IBM should be declared vexatious litigants as a result."
How can you have a US legal system that is the best money can buy if you can't buy your way out of problems? Lady Justice is blind and fails to notice if the scales are tipped one way or the other via money...
"If the lawyers are so good, how come they let Big Blue get into this mess in the first place?"
Because some of the employment related stuff they do is allegedly sketchy.
And they don't often lose. And often the other side pays all their costs. including washing the bloodstains out of their expensive blue suits.
If the lawyers are so good, how come they let Big Blue get into this mess in the first place?
I've dealt with their IT lawyers quite a bit. They were very good every time I dealt with them. You'd expect that, given that their IT lawyers generate $1.5B+ every year. They're passed around from division to division depending on who is management's golden haired boy.
But the IT lawyers form their own entity inside IBM. HR is its own realm and is a cost center rather than a revenue generator. They're tasked with carrying out management's orders and trying to pass off their actions as legal. Sometimes it's not all that easy to do, as in this case.
Why not shift HQ from Armonk to PyongYang where the courts would be much more sympathetic on liquidating surplus employees on behalf of the Glorius Ginnies bonus.
Failing that they could try Brunie, although thier lawyers would probably charge by the stone when impemlementing an elbow action.
"I was looking forward to read this article, but the opening sentence left me wondering whether the journalist knows what he / she / it is doing..."
I was looking forward to reading this comment, but the opening sentence left me wondering whether the commentard knows what he / she / it is doing...
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I get where you're coming from, I truly do, but a lack of simple oversight leaves one open to criticism.
Has anyone compiled a list of cases where the whistleblower is "safe" (identity protected, keeps their job, etc) but the miscreant gets clobbered with the full force of the law?
Every case I've heard of, it's the honest man reporting the bad behaviour who gets shafted while the offender - usually but not quite always Management - gets let off the hook...
IBM has demanded the name of the person who leaked an internal document that appeared to show the company was deliberately targeting and firing older workers.
Obviously so they can sack the person.
Not only does IBM want to know who provided the document but it wants Langley to pay its legal costs for the discovery effort, as sanctions for refusing to cooperate during a prior deposition.
So they can drain him of much money as possible so he can't continue the case.
Reminds me of a time when IBM banned kettles in UK (or possibly just Basingstoke)) offices so you had to pay to buy water to make teas and coffees, this was reported to one of the Computing Magazines/Papers of the time (2001), can't remember which one. After the article appeared our manager came to our team of 20 or so in AIX Support wanting to know who it was that leaked this.. It was never confirmed but we thought we knew who it was, though may have been from anyone ... he departed the next year of his own accord if it was who we thought it was.
If there was a witch hunt over a light hearted kettle problem, you can imagine someone leaking details over a key policy document, they will be hunting them down.
There will no longer be an age discrimination policy.
HR has announced a new policy that employees will be lined up quarterly and the lions will be released. Those no longer capable of appropriate corporate agility will be eliminated by natural selection. A much cheaper and motivational incentive plan without obvious age bias and pesky pay-offs. Why not - job skills are not a factor in this new policy, just like the last one.
I should think there ought to be laws that are clear, plain and unambiguous: if a lawsuit is ongoing, and there is information relevant to the outcome of that lawsuit, any person is not only legally permitted to supply that information, but indeed is obligated to do so, just as if the information were relevant to criminal activity. If you owe money in a lawsuit, it should be just like you've committed a crime, you can make no claims whatsoever against anyone who brings forward evidence of your guilt.
At present, there are instead laws that say exactly the opposite: if the U.S. Government is being sued by someone, it's illegal for any U.S. Government employee to do anything to help the person suing. I view this as insane; every person must be under a total obligation to ensure the courts find the truth, with no parts of the relevant truth hidden from them.
I'm glad that Jonathan Langley has the "cojones" to stand up to the bastards at this nasty place of modern slavery.
We should pay into a fundraiser if they try to screw over this fine young man. Surely we as human beings must stand together!
To be honest though, we are dickheads ourselves by becoming slaves.
We have human rights, and just because an amoral society tries to instill in us that we made a choice to accept these rules doesn't mean we did.
Sorry for the moral piety. I'm no better....but as I'm getting older I'm becoming less scared. What's the worst they can do? Make me use Facebook?
There could be many. Back when I was an IBM contractor (through late-2012), the internal discussion boards frequently had comments from IBMers complaining that they were being passed over or dealing with radio silence when they applied to internally posted positions. I rather doubt these complainers were *all* unqualified or all in their early-30s.
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