I’ve been working at a small startup for the past 9 months, and I’m starting to feel really uneasy about some unethical practices I’ve discovered. We’re a team of about 25, and I was one of the first hires in my role. Recently, I learned some alarming things that are making me consider whether I should leave the company. 1. It turns out that several of my coworkers don’t have valid work authorizations. The founders are from India, and it seems a couple of our engineers are on student or guest visas. I found out about this after one of them got caught, which raised a huge red flag for me. 2. The founder is diverting funds from our main product to develop a second product, which is only marginally related to our original offering. He’s even using our main product’s social media to promote this new venture. I’m worried that this could jeopardize the cash flow from the product I’m responsible for. 3. There are also issues with contracts being manipulated to lower the pay for myself and the go-to-market team. I was promised bonuses for achieving specific goals, but the new contract terms have delayed those payments and made it harder to reach my targets. 4. On a personal note, I just found out that my equity vesting schedule was altered without my knowledge. The founder added an additional year to my vesting period, which is really frustrating. Given all of this, I’m wondering how bad it would look if I decided to switch jobs now. I’m particularly concerned about the legal implications if any of these issues come to light. A friend from my previous job offered me a referral, but I’ve applied there a couple of times since my layoff and never heard back. Plus, since I’m the public face of our training and promotional videos, it would feel awkward to transition to a new role. I’m really torn about whether I should stay and wait it out or bail before things potentially get worse.
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