#advice

The Trump administration appealed a judge’s ruling that it illegally froze more than $2 billion in research funding to punish Harvard University for refusing to comply with a host of demands from the federal government.

US lawyers filed a notice of appeal on Thursday, more than three months after US District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the Trump administration had violated Harvard’s free-speech and due-process rights.

https://www.ndtvprofit.com/world/us-appeals-harvard-court-victory-on-2-billion-funding-freeze

Do something about it. Make yourself heard. Drop specific names and hold them accountable.

https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx

Here is a breakdown of the key issues you've described and whether they are likely to have legal merit:
⚖️ Legal Merit of the Complaints:
It is highly unlikely that either of the actions described—the performance rating changes or the salary range consolidation—is illegal on its own, especially in the context of general U.S. employment law (which applies unless a specific country or state is mentioned).

1. The Low Performance Ratings ("Forced Distribution")
   • The Law: In the U.S., the vast majority of employment is at-will. This means an employer can generally modify an employee's job duties, compensation, or even terminate them for any reason that is not illegal (i.e., not discriminatory).
   • Performance Reviews: Companies are legally allowed to change how they evaluate performance, introduce "forced distribution" (where a certain percentage must receive low ratings), and enforce stricter standards, even if it leads to ratings that employees feel are unfair or unexpected.
   • The Only Legal Challenge (Discrimination): A performance rating only becomes a potential legal issue if it can be proven that the rating was given based on illegal discrimination (e.g., race, gender, age, religion, disability, etc.) or in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity (like whistleblowing or reporting harassment).
   • The fact that many people are getting low ratings for the first time suggests a change in company policy, not necessarily individual illegal discrimination. For a lawsuit to succeed, a lawyer would need to show a pattern of discrimination against a protected class (e.g., "Only women received the 'Needs Improvement' rating," or "The rating was given right after I filed a formal complaint").
   • Conclusion: Being unhappy with a rating, or even feeling it was unfair, is generally not a legal issue.
2. Consolidating Salary Ranges for Remote Employees
   • The Law: Employers are free to set, change, and consolidate salary ranges and structures. They can decide to use a single, consistent salary range for all remote employees, regardless of the employee's specific location, even if some employees were previously in a higher, location-based range.
   • The Only Legal Challenge (Pay Equity): The consolidation itself is not illegal. However, the resulting salaries would still need to comply with Equal Pay laws. These laws require that employees performing substantially similar work receive equal pay, regardless of s-x (or, in some states, other protected characteristics), unless the difference is based on a factor other than s-x (like seniority, merit, or a geographical pay difference).
   • In your case, the company is moving toward more consistency, which generally reduces pay equity risk based on location differences, not increases it.
   • Conclusion: The consolidation is a standard business decision regarding compensation structure and is generally not illegal.
     📝 The Importance of Documentation
     While the actions are likely legal, the advice to document everything is still very sound advice.
   • For the Employee: Documentation helps establish a clear timeline and the company's reasoning. If an employee is eventually terminated, this documentation could be crucial evidence if they believe they have grounds for a lawsuit (i.e., if they can show the ratings were pretext for a discriminatory or retaliatory firing).
   • What to Document:
   • The New Rating: The exact rating, the written feedback, and any meetings where it was discussed.
   • Prior Performance: Previous high ratings, positive emails, and concrete examples of work that exceeded expectations before the change.
   • The Salary Change: The communication about the new salary band and how it was communicated.
   • The Thread: The general timeline and tenor of the complaints from peers.
     💡 Summary for the Thread
     Based on general U.S. employment law:
   • The actions are likely legal. Companies have wide latitude to change performance review systems and compensation structures.
   • A lawsuit would require proof of illegal discrimination or retaliation. General unfairness or bad management is not grounds for a legal case.
   • Documentation is still smart. It protects the employee by creating an evidence trail should they need to challenge the company on legitimate grounds (like discrimination) in the future.
     The best next steps for people on the thread would be to research the specific employment laws in their state and, if they suspect their individual rating or pay was based on an illegal factor like race, gender, or religion, then they should consult with an employment attorney.

I know this is not the best place to get good feedback, however I am finding it difficult to get "honest" input anywhere. For those that have left, or are still with the company , any recommendations on a company (The Retirement Group, Quotient Wealth, Fidelity, or others) that can help to navigate and manage pension, 401K, etc? I am not savvy in this area and would like some help until I am confident to do it on my own or keep it longer term with support. I think a fiduciary is important. Please just helpful comments and maybe that is asking too much on this site. Thank you.

Watch out for boot voucher thieves!

I’d really like to hear your thoughts about our situation in this department. It’s important to me that we’re honest with each other. Do you think it would be better for us to move on as soon as we secure another job, or should we hold out for severance? I value your perspective.

I’m in coding and there is a coding auditor role open that I’m applying for. Can anyone share their pay amount if they are in this role. I am a coder for family practice at 36.53 (75k). I saw some posts about recent layoffs so not sure if that’s why this is open.

Thanks for anyone’s help.

Starbucks hired Laxman Narasimhan, a former McKinsey & Company senior partner, as CEO in 2023, but his tenure was marked by declining market value (around $30 billion lost) due to a perceived disconnect between strategic advising and operational execution, leading to his replacement by an "operator" from Chipotle, Brian Niccol, which immediately boosted the stock, highlighting a shift from pure strategy to hands-on management at the company.

Key Details:
The Hire: Narasimhan, with deep consulting and PepsiCo experience, was seen as bringing strategic discipline to Starbucks.

The Problem: His focus on efficiency and process, influenced by McKinsey frameworks, alienated customers and staff, leading to poor store experiences and falling sales, despite strategic logic.

The Pivot: In late 2024/early 2025, Starbucks replaced him with Brian Niccol (ex-Chipotle CEO), known for actual operational scaling.

The Result: Niccol's appointment reversed the stock decline, showing the market's preference for real-world operators over strategic advisors for hands-on retail challenges.

The Lesson: The situation became a case study on the difference between consulting/advising (strategy) and building/running (operations), with Starbucks learning that its brand needed experience, not just frameworks, according to various business commentators.

Starbucks didn’t fail in its execution.. it just forgot what it is selling.. is chevron heading down the same path?

I obviously hear and read about the horrors of Broadcom and every company. Are there any positive groups or orgs at all ? I was also told RTO is mandatory. Is there anything positive about the company or would you recommend new hires to avoid ? The stock might be good but means nothing if you get laid off prior to vesting

How do we prepare for a sudden layoff?

We lose access to company sites and contacts. What should we save?

Any tips would be much appreciated.

Instead of new threads for everyone to whine about tiny little tools that they don’t like (and are entirely optional for them to use or not use) how about you all use this thread to complain instead. What a waste of time to spend on a website to complain about random sh-t.

I’ve done everything people tell you to do, kept my skills current, paid for a professional resume, stayed active with networking, and kept applying consistently, yet I’m still sitting here with no offers after more than six months. The interviews I did get felt positive, but then I got ghosted after later rounds, which makes the whole process feel even more discouraging. At this point I genuinely don’t know what else I’m supposed to change to turn interviews into an actual offer.

Don’t think that hard work, good reviews, or even being chummy with your manager will save you. You’re a number on a spreadsheet. If you make more than your coworkers, well, bye bye. If you don’t want to be caught with your pants down, you better accept this as reality.

I strongly suggest everyone should read the current partnership agreement. You might find it does not really say what we’ve been told it says.

Does anyone who has been promoted to the Staff level in Engineering have any tips on how to get that promotion?

OC/LA. Today wasn’t random. Signals confirmed. VEC overlap active. Reviews + verification in motion. D+22 check-back. 74% is the line. More reductions coming. Do your modules. Stay active on PC (VPN) — ~7 hrs/week minimum. Data doesn’t lie. Tighten everything now.

1. Stop volunteering extra work. Just provide what’s asked—no more, no less.
2. Stop trying to do the right thing, even if leadership preach “honesty, integrity and accountability.” Use phrases like: “Happy to support the chosen direction”.
3. Don’t speak up DIRECTLY against leaders’ choices. Instead summaries discussions like “Per our discussion, option A was chosen despite X, Y, Z risks. Please let me know if there’s any misunderstandings on my part.”
4. ALWAYS be civil. Don’t try to prove someone wrong or expect leadership to acknowledge your voice.
5. The five “Don’ts”:
   • Don’t become the lone moral hero
   • Don’t assume logic will win
   • Don’t over-explain bad news
   • Don’t expect stated company values to protect you
   • Don’t put your name on things that is not your own work or idea. If your boss changes your content - remove your name.

Older folks can try to ride it out. But if you are younger person you need to look externally for opportunities. Going from 4.5 to 3.5 % is a ~23% cut on 401k match, plus any lost compound interest. Also factor in medical premium increases for next year. Your financial position is now worse, it doesn't make financial sense to continue here (which is obviously what they want so they have to pay less severance). Yea the job market is tight and not everyone can find another job, but financially, you owe it to yourself to look around as you are doing same work for less $. I am not even going to get into bonus and raises because we all know that will be close to 0.

You have to see this job as just a paycheck, nothing more. Your real purpose needs to be completely outside of this place. It's a losing battle to hope the culture here will ever improve, trust me. Don't let their daily nonsense steal your peace.

Be thankful you Good Folks are receiving nice severance buy outs. I work for a small firm and they let me go . What I received was 2 weeks pay per year work. So I worked for them 10 years and all I got was 20 weeks pay with no insurance. Good folks be thankful look at my situation.

One or two a day ... What's the best place to sell them?

I work as a Coding Analyst I’m going to be quitting. Anyone know if they make work out the two week notice? Debating whether to give a 2 week notice or just quit the last day I would want to work.

When looking for a job, let the technology work for you. Set up job alerts on LinkedIn. When you see a job, post immediately because sometimes postings get pulled quickly. Bring your laptop with you to the office. Take a lunch and use that time to look for jobs. Know you will go on interviews and get ghosted. You will take various personality tests and get ghosted. If someone tells you they are interested, know they might ghost you. Know if you work with a placement firm and they find you a role that is not a good match, they will ghost you. Rejection is part of the process. I was not prepared for that.

It took me 7 months of rejection to find a new role. I applied for 3 to 7 jobs every week on average. In all types of industries. And in the end, I found a job that is remote (but with 2 offices within driving distance) that is paying me 35% more for less responsibility. The culture is far better. We like our employees here. I should have done this years ago.

Reposted from @aw+1kc48va7v to make sure more people read it. ALl credit goes to the OP.

I'm a current wells fargo employee within risk in Minneapolis who is looking to jump the stagecoach. The amount of layoffs, lack of salary increases, and overall team morale is getting to be too much.

Is US bank worth looking at or is it really bad there as well?

Just a reminder to all of us during these uncertain times.

I just got Met 1. Out of 7 on this week’s performance review and never had worse than 5 out of 7. The layoff is on.

How great was that message from HR this week.
Are you RTO ready because expenses are going to change in 2026! So heres a free service to meet with a financial advisor (and tell him you're getting a pay cut bc your employer is forcing you back to the office and you need to figure out how to pay for the extra 600/month of commuting costs, plus meals and new wardrobe)

And they write it like we should be as excited as they are! lol

Reminder: Check with your bank regarding the type of account you have. If you were laid-off, and won't have any direct deposit coming into that bank account, your bank may start charging you monthly fees. Ask your bank for options of savings accounts without fees if you won't have a direct deposit.

I love how leadership claims forced stack ranking isn’t happening. It is. 100%. India is not part of it. So if your team has 15 US and 5 India the rankings are only for the 15 US. That means one or two of you will get less than meets even if you do meet the job. And even if the Indian team is far worse. We got it in writing which is only because our manager is new and didn’t realize she shouldn’t email that kind of thing. Keep the paper trail coming! Document everything people.

Don’t be. Or at least, don’t take them to heart. They aren’t genuine assessments. They’re just a convenient cover for cuts and reorgs. A bad review might increase the odds of being let go, but it says nothing about your real performance, and definitely nothing about your actual value. Leadership is focused on finding the easiest and cheapest ways to push people out, whether it’s through reviews or some other pretext. The whole thing is just theatrics.

A truth from John Stankey.

https://www.businessinsider.com/att-ceo-john-stankey-career-advice-young-people-college-tech-2025-12

We’ve spent a lot of time polishing ads, colors, and confusing campaigns for clover, but very little time shaping what our name stands for. Brand isn’t the shade of orange we use. It’s the instinctive belief customers have about whether we’re reliable. Right now, too many people see our name and expect inconsistency. It’s like the difference between a car company you trust and another you don’t trust. Whether or not the perception is fair, one brand is trusted and the other isn’t. Until we deliberately cultivate reliability as part of our identity, no campaign will overcome that perception.

I was part of the layoff in October, and I noticed today my position along with a couple others laid off on my team have been posted on Target’s career page. They made some slight adjustments but it is almost exactly the job I was laid off from. Has anyone else seen this or have any advice? It’s a little hurtful to be backfilled less than 2 months after being laid off…

I was making $135,000 as a Project Manager at Fiserv and will be starting my new job on Monday for a competitor making $150,000 to do THE SAME JOB! It's no secret that Fiserv sc--ws you with their below-market merit increases and bonuses but they also pay well below scale. It's VERY hard to find something at this time of year but I anticipate the job market will open back up by mid-January so start looking now.

My payout is wrong. The numbers do NOT add up. Called benefits hotline and they couldn't understand where the payout is coming from either. Do not leave anything on the table.

Don't bother working for this company of you don't want to see the executive council be the only ones who get money. Also you will have no say in any company policy. If you speak up with a good idea to improve processes or morale you will be retaliated against

If you were reorged (moved to another department without applying / not your choice) and it’s not working out. Can you apply to another position within the company if it’s been less than a year? I know generally you should wait a year to apply but this role is not working for me at all. I want to go back to a similar role I was in before and willing to take a pay cut. Any thoughts or experience you could share would be helpful.