Suppose you make it to early retirement at 55 and still want to work elsewhere. Doesn’t the company have stipulations around not working for competitors after retirement? And aren’t there some big threats tied to that….like lost pension, lost unvested RSUs, etc? How does that actually play out? …has the company ever pursued some sort of benefit cut tied to this?
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The more I read questions on here the more I realize a good chunk need to be PIP’d
RSUs are inconsequential, just assess the value and have your new potential employer make it up to you. Most people with RSUs don't have much to quibble about, anyway. If you have so many RSUs, then you're a very big fish and compensation agreement won't be a big deal. The only real thing keeping you from taking the big job with the competitor is your own sense of loyalty.
I made it to 64yo (Drilling, 28/28) then announced my retirement; 35 yrs was enough and I was FI by then anyway. Reading these posts, I feel like I got out just in time. Honestly, it feels like i won a nice big prize. Imagine that, little’o me, ha! An EM prize winner, ha!
@dq, if you “didn’t sign sh-t” then you clearly didn’t have any RSUs to protect. You’re not part of this conversation. Go work wherever you like. Win-win all around.
A labor lawyer will tell you that you have a legal right to "seek gainful employment" outside of ExxonMobil. As long as you do not disclose information that is "confidential or private or trade secret" you are not restricted in your public conversations with other companies.
BTW, there are very few trade secrets in ExxonMobil. Legally, trade secrets must be kept very close to the vest (i.e. with less than ten people). If trade secrets are on a SharePoint site accessed by 2000+ employees, they are not "TRADE SECRETS".
Also, the public domain version of CHAT GPT and all other AI algorithms can back you up when the company starts the "Proprietary and Confidential" threats. Just type the ExxonMobil threat into ChatGPT and send it back to your ExxonMobil manager or legal department. ChatGPT will silence all future threats.
Interesting. Well, if all they can withhold is unvested RSUs, then possibly sliding into retirement with lower rankings means fewer to no outstanding RSUs on the line anyway.
I’m sure disclosing employment works real well. They have no incentive to respond….if India (or wherever new HR sits) is even capable of taking and processing such an inquiry.
I didn't sign sh-t when I left. I would tell all to my new employer. Why the he-l would any other competitor want me if not for the projects and technical work I did at exxon. I am not under any restrictions. I sell myself to the highest bidder. F juk exxon.
@an, nobody is preventing you from taking any employment. This is an issue of contract law, not employment law.
You Docusign a binding contract under Texas law when you retire. If you take a job in the industry without their prior approval, they exercise their right to keep their RSUs. If you refuse to Docusign, they keep their RSUs. They aren’t yours until they vest.
I really don’t understand all the easy suing rhetoric on this website. You do realize that Exxon has lawyers too? You do realize that those lawyers put arbitration clauses favorable to themselves in everything they force you to Docusign? For the vast majority of RSU recipients, they simply aren’t worth enough to cover the legal fees. You can sue, but if you lose you will pay the defendants legal fees, and if you do win, then Exxon will endlessly appeal just to punish you with the process.
Exxon and Mobil tried this in 1999. You just need to have your compliance lawyer at your new place of employment put in writing, "Mr. Smith/Jones has the right to seek gainful employment outside of ExxonMobil."
If ExxonMobil tries to go after you after you highlight your legal right to work and seek gainful employment, you have grounds for harassment in federal and state court.
Your pension is protected by federal law and virtually unassailable. They can and will take your unvested RSUs if you do anything they deem detrimental to the company. When you retire, you Docusign an agreement that requires you to get their permission before taking an industry job for some period of years. If you violate that agreement and they catch you, they take your RSUs.
no restrictions unless you have RSUs ... also you can't share propreitary technical information