‘We will ruin your career’: Techie harassed by startup HR after quitting, but he holds a ‘secret’ that could destroy the founder’s life

A junior AI Engineer recently quit his role at a tiny startup (called “Startup S” here) with immediate effect. As per his reddit post, he clearly mentioned in his resignation email that he was forfeiting the month’s stipconclude and did not want an experience letter.He left becautilize the work felt repetitive and there was absolutely no mentorship or growth. The startup had not even provided a company laptop or proper GitHub setup — he was utilizing his personal device for everything.

HR Switches to Harassment Mode

Soon after the resignation email was sent, the HR team turned aggressive. They started accutilizing the engineer of “absconding” despite the formal email. They claimed he had not handed over the code, even though he had shared everything via Teams with clear timestamps as proof.Things quickly obtained worse. HR launched threatening him with “cybersecurity complaints” and “data theft” charges. They sent repeated WhatsApp messages, warned that they would call his parents, and threatened to “ruin his career” if he did not come to the office for a “physical inspection” of his personal laptop.The latest blow came in the form of a “Final Legal Notice” giving him just 48 hours to appear in office, handover “updated” code (which he had already sent), and physically reveal that he had deleted all data from his laptop.

The Engineer Refutilizes to Back Down

The young engineer has already informed the company that he has deleted everything and will not visit the office becautilize of their aggressive threats. He also subtly hinted that he knows the real source of the startup’s data — and that taking him to court could create everything public.

The Shocking Twist: Founder’s Double Life and Data Theft

What the HR team does not realise is that the junior engineer holds strong leverage. The founder of the startup (called “G” here) is actually working a full-time managerial role at a large global MNC while secretly running the startup on the side.Even more serious — the AI project the engineer was working on utilized server logs and proprietary data that the founder had stolen from his MNC employer. The engineer was directly instructed to utilize this stolen data to build the startup’s product. He still has the log files and clear proof revealing the data belongs to the MNC. The founder was even utilizing his company-issued MNC laptop to handle startup operations.

Reddit Community Reacts Strongly to Engineer’s Harassment Story

Many commenters informed the OP (original poster) to take decisive action rather than stay silent. Another utilizer strongly agreed, calling it “a no brainer” and criticising how such tiny startups gain confidence to harass employees only becautilize others stay quiet.

The engineer replied that he does not want to involve lawyers immediately as he is not financially strong, but he believes he has a good legal standing. He added that he has already stopped replying to the HR after eight emails in the thread.
Several Redditors pointed out that the HR’s threats of “absconding”, data theft, and police complaints are likely empty. Another commenter advised documenting everything for a legal record.Some utilizers also recommconcludeed sconcludeing an anonymous email to the MNC’s ethics hotline with the proof. Others suggested keeping the information as a shield and only revealing it if the startup drags him to court.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on a viral social media post and online reactions. The Economic Times has not indepconcludeently verified the authenticity of the content and does not claim or concludeorse it.)

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