Hi - advice needed, is it a rights violation?

41 Comments

1. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 2,2024 at 6:38PM UTC

   If you've already turned in your resignation, I don't see how they can force you to share information you're not comfortable sharing - against your will. What are they going to do? Fire you?

   How did HR get this information?

2. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:01PM UTC

   I'm switching agencies, the HR POC forwarded the email from my new HR department. The manager knew, but I didn't share the specific information, manager found out from the email forwarded from HR. I didn't even know the manager knew. When manager asked me to announce on a call, I didn't give specifics. They interjected, stated I wasn't telling the truth and told my business. Then announced that I "had" to announce it to the rest of the organization on another call tomorrow.....

3. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:04PM UTC

   You don't have to announce anything tomorrow. Joan's right. What are they going to do? Say whatever you're comfortable saying and if your manager chooses to interject with information you clearly didn't wish to share, let them make themselves look bad. No skin off your back.

4. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 2,2024 at 9:13PM UTC

   You wrote: "I'm switching agencies, the HR POC forwarded the email from my new HR department. "

   Can you please clarify? Is this some sort of internal transfer? Why would your new/old HR departments be communicating?

   This may be a different situation if you're not leaving the company.

5. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:55PM UTC

   Its government, I'm going to an entirely different agency. They did that because technically I'm not a new employee and I won't lose time in grade. I've done the same when I'd worked for state agencies, I'm never specific and to my knowledge the information was never shared. I've never had a manager tell me I was lying and announce my business without my consent.

6. maria roseOctober 4,2024 at 6:26PM UTC

   I am addressing the OP of this post— what you are upset about is that with having a position as you have in a government job is that you have no control over how information about your transfers ( from one department to another etc) is distributed. Obviously you had an internal conflict with a manager and the only solution for you to get out of interaction with them was a transfer. You also did not want to lose the pay grade you were at and have to downgrade to speed up the transfer—that explains why the manager was given the memo to explain why they might be losing a staff member at your pay grade and if they are going to get a replacement or not.( that depends on whether they are allowed to reassign the position to another. Being in a government job position doesn’t follow normal business employment law because of the structure is based on tenure, time and pay grade structure, which has nothing to do with actual job performance. No one here is questioning your value or pay grade rate, but leaving out the fact that you are working in a government job and position change occurred as a transfer to another agency just changed the whole story because you really didn’t leave the structure of government employment-you transferred from one agency to another.

   Now that it is clearly defined as a transfer, it explains why you don’t want to take part in the meeting that is labeled as an exit meeting but really isn’t because you don’t want to continue to have conversations about your need to transfer since you’re have made clear ( at least in tone) that working with this manager created a negative work environment for you. That is hazard of working in any government job position you will never be able to avoid completely interacting with former colleagues because you all are basically employed by one—the government- under the title of another agency. You are still working for the government, no matter what agency. The only way to completely eliminate your interaction is to find a job in the private sector. You have just described a con of having a government job despite having the positive of never losing your job ( except for those very rare exceptions) and never getting your pay rate lowered. All government agencies are all interchangeable and connected. You really can’t apply employment laws that are in place for employment in private sector jobs as equally to government jobs that have their own set of rules for employees.

7. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 6:04PM UTC

   A lot of this info would have been helpful to share in your original post.

8. Barb HansenOctober 2,2024 at 8:14PM UTC

   This is an interesting question. Is there a right to privacy regarding where a person works? I would guess that there isn't.

   As Joan mentioned below, your former company can't force you to tell them where you are going, but is it against your rights if they find out and if they decide to tell everyone in the company.

   I look forward to reading the comments from other community members.

9. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:03PM UTC

   That's essentially what happened. I didn't share the information and didn't know the manager knew. They found out from an email forwarded from HR, and told everyone when I chose not to share.

10. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:06PM UTC

    Unless you are under some non-compete, contract, or NDA agreement and it is enforceable in your state (not all states will enforce them, as they limit your ability to find work), there is no obligation to tell your current employer where you are going. Furthermore, if you are asked to "share" in a larger meeting, only share what you are comfortable sharing. Let your boss know you are uncomfortable with a public announcement about where you are going and that you will only share that you are leaving. If the question comes up, say you don't feel comfortable sharing at this time and let it go.

    I agree with Joan. What are they going to do to you if you refuse to share? Fire you? If they make it this uncomfortable for you, you don't have to stay through your notice. Pack up and leave. This type of treatment is horrible. Unfortunately, I don't see how it would represent any violation of legal rights. It does indicate someone who is a terrible human being with no sense of decency or ethics.

    I have one question about this. You said you chose not to tell anybody, so how did HR know if you didn't tell them? Did anyone else know you were looking for work? Interviewing? Could they have told the boss? I was just wondering how HR found out. I had a boss who pitched this type of fit when I left my very first job in my first career, and his issue was finding out how much the new company offered me. I never told him or anybody else, and he never found out.

11. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 9:47PM UTC

    I didn't share or tell them exactly where, the manager interjected, said I wasn't telling the truth and told the whole team where I was going and my job title.... I spoke with HR afterwards and they told me that they forwarded the email from the new HR to my manager. (Why that was necessary when they just needed to agree on a release date is beyond me, another reason why I'm leaving- they do what they want without consequence) .....I'm changing agencies, apparently the new HR had to tell the old HR so that I wouldn't drop out of the system (government) or lose time in grade. I chose not to share specific information because I know what the manager is capable of, and I just want to get away from them. If I could've found a salary comparable in corporate, I would've left all together.

12. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 11:14PM UTC

    Thank you. That explains a lot. I am so sorry you are going through this. I understand that government jobs have their own set of rules.

13. AnonymousOctober 2,2024 at 10:21PM UTC

    Nope. You will need to leave now due to the unreasonable coercion you are experiencing.

14. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 12:24PM UTC

    Would it be wise to ditch early if the HR at her new role r clearly in contact with this job?

15. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 6:03PM UTC

    But is it HR at old role or new?

16. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 12:49PM UTC

    Had you made clear that you didn’t want to share where you are going? “Chose not to share” is different from “don’t want anyone to know.” It sounds like your workplace is difficult but I can also see an interpretation that the leadership just “wants to wish our colleague well as she starts a next chapter with New Company.” I think if you have not explicitly said that you do not want your new company announced, as opposed to just “not sharing,” you should do that.

17. Katie LowryOctober 3,2024 at 1:54PM UTC

    Don’t go to the meeting. They gonna fire you?

18. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 2:59PM UTC

    I had a colleague leave after a negative experience. He never shared where he went, it's human nature for everyone to want to know where. When we had a large group send off for him, he still never said. Just be general you don't have to say what you don't want to say.

19. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 3:22PM UTC

    Not clear on how HR knew where your next role is.

20. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 4:38PM UTC

    Oh hell no! And they had no right to share where you’re going either. I would file a complaint with the state labor board. Not a lawsuit, just a complaint. Good luck in your new job. You deserve better.

21. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 5:25PM UTC

    Well unless you are enslaved there you can chose to share what you want and not share what you do not want to. I would write a stern letter to the company legal department and HR and the manager included and let them know that once you leave their employ what you do and where you go is none of their business. Don't attend that meeting should you decide to keep it private.

22. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 6:01PM UTC

    I wouldn't say that there is an actual violation here. Poor taste, yes. But no actual violation. And how did HR know where you were going (unless, of course, a background check included verification of employment)?

    But like someone else said, if you don't want to share, don't, skip the meeting. What are they going to do...fire you?

23. maria roseOctober 3,2024 at 6:28PM UTC

    Agree with the above statement, the meeting is probably a form of exit interview strategy that some employers have in place to show that they are “working “ on developing better understanding of employee retention. It is probably some new approach that is mentioned in the “fine print “ of the employee handbook that is assumed that every employee actively reads. You covered the basic necessity of leaving employment—gave notice so you are not obligated to go to this meeting.

24. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 8:45PM UTC

    After I provided my initial response, I scrolled through the rest of the comments and it appears that the OP left some things out of her original post. Doesn't necessarily change my response, but I don't work in government so can't say for sure.

25. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 8:02PM UTC

    Violation? no, not at all. If you don't want to share, then don't.

26. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 10:17PM UTC

    I wouldn't share anything. Hell, don't go to the meeting. You're outta there. You owe them nothing.

27. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 10:34PM UTC

    No, you can't control people talking. There should be no expectation of privacy. Your employment plans are not confidential information or covered under the law.

28. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 1:48AM UTC

    No rights violation. It's gossip for lack of a better description. Gossip is not illegal.

29. Celena BartonOctober 4,2024 at 12:40PM UTC

    It’s just very uncouth of people to ask. I had asked someone earlier in my career where they were going when they resigned and they politely told me they weren’t sharing that info at the time. I learned from there not to ask (of course unless we were good friends and I likely would have already known. You shouldn’t be forced to share that but it sounds like the cats out of the bag. Maybe at the bigger meeting you could be vague and say something like “I’ll be moving to a healthcare organization.”

30. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 12:53PM UTC

    If you didn't want anyone to know the employer you are going to then why did you share the information with HR? Also, not sure how you're being forced to share at another meeting. If you've already given your notice then just refuse to say at the other meeting. What are they going to do, fire you? This is not a rights violation, and HR is there to protect the company, not the employees, so if you didn't want anyone at the company to know where you were going you shouldn't have told HR.

31. Robin WOctober 4,2024 at 2:04PM UTC

    Perhaps HR found out during the reference check?

32. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 1:11PM UTC

    What rights do you think have been violated exactly??

33. GirlBossanova934974October 4,2024 at 2:11PM UTC

    Here's an idea. Make your departure speech in 2 sentences. A) On day xyz, I will be leaving the organization B) Have fun, good working with you, and best of luck! END OF SPEECH! no need for extra drama....

34. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 3:56PM UTC

    There's nothing considered legally private about where you're going to work. While this is annoying, it's not a violation of anything.

35. AnonymousOctober 5,2024 at 12:34PM UTC

    Why on earth did you tell HR?

36. AnonymousOctober 5,2024 at 12:48PM UTC

    Nope

37. Michele SinclairOctober 5,2024 at 2:51PM UTC

    I would politely let them know you won't be attending.

38. AnonymousOctober 5,2024 at 6:21PM UTC

    You have the right to leave a job as most states are at will states. Never tell them where you are going. You are leaving and leave it at that. If they lay you off or close their doors, do you think they will be honest with you?

39. AnonymousOctober 5,2024 at 7:05PM UTC

    I would not have told HR.

40. AnonymousOctober 6,2024 at 5:14AM UTC

    It is not necessary to say to which company you are going to. They should not force you to say that.

41. AnonymousOctober 7,2024 at 12:31AM UTC

    Congrats on your new job! It’s not appropriate for HR or your manager to share it. Just say thank you to those congratulating you but smile and then count down the days you can get out. Leave on a high note and leave the inept ones behind! Congrats again!