[asperous]

Not a lawyer but those contracts aren't legal. You need something called "consideration" ie something new of value to be legal. They can't just take away something of value that was already agreed upon.

However they could add this to new employee contracts.

[ethbr1]

"Legal" seems like a fuzzy line to OpenAI's leadership.

Pushing unenforceable scare-copy to get employees to self-censor sounds on-brand.

[tptacek]

I agree with Piper's point that these contracts aren't common in tech, but they're hardly unheard of. In 20 years of consulting work I've seen dozens of them. They're not uncommon. This doesn't look uniquely hostile or amoral for OpenAI, just garden-variety.

[dylan604]

This sounds just like the non-compete issue that the FTC just invalidated. I can see if the current FTC leadership is allowed to continue working after 2025/01/20 that these things might be moved against as well. If new admin is brought in, they might all get reversed. Just something to consider going into your particular polling place

[blackeyeblitzar]

It doesn’t matter if they are not legal. Employees do not have resources to fight expensive legal battles and fear retaliation in other ways. Like not being able to find future jobs. And anyone with family plain won’t have the time.

[lxgr]

“You get shares in our company in exchange for employment and eternal never-talking-bad-about-us”?

Doesn’t mean that that’s legal, of course, but I’d doubt that the legality would hinge on a lack of consideration.

[hannasanarion]

You can't add a contingency to a payment retroactively. It sounds like these are exit agreements, not employment agreements.

If it was "we'll give you shares/cash if you don't say anything bad about us", that's normal, kind of standard fare for exit agreements, it's why severance packages exist.

But if it is "we'll take away the shares that you already earned as part of your regular employment compensation unless you agree to not say anything bad about us", that's extortion.

[koolba]

Through in a preamble of “For $1 and other consideration…”

[singleshot_]

They give you a general release of liability, as noted elsewhere in the thread.

[danielmarkbruce]

Have you seen the contracts?