(Oct 1, 2023)

Make sure that the legal successor to every company you ever worked for has your current postal address. Even if not classified by the company as a "Retiree" or if long gone -- in case of pension plan changes, employment lawsuits, settlements, or other issues. (HP Inc. is the overall legal successor to companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before the company was split into HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including DEC, EDS, etc.) Update address at former company

Any agreement you signed when you left (whether you left voluntarily or otherwise) limits your ability to sue.

To be paid severance or a retirement incentive, you agreed not to sue the company -- see page 2 of HP Waiver 2007 -- or to abide by the ruling of a hired arbitrator --  see pages 2-3 and page 5 of HP Waiver 2015)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a helpful guide: "Understanding Employee Severance Agreements"

Recent Waiver and General Release Agreements contain a 536-word paragraph, which includes: "The parties further agree that this Agreement is intended to be strictly construed to provide for arbitration as the sole and exclusive means for resolution of all disputes hereunder to the fullest extent permitted by law... The parties expressly waive any entitlement to have such controversies decided by a court or a jury."

"The Supreme Court ruled that companies can use arbitration clauses in employment contracts to prohibit workers from banding together to take legal action over workplace issues. ... The workers’ employment contracts required that they resolve such disputes in arbitration rather than court and, importantly, that they file their claims one by one." New York Times - May 2018
"Supreme Court Imposes Limits on Workers in Arbitration Cases. Ruling gives teeth to employment contracts drawn to minimize corporate exposure to public trials and class actions filed by employees." Wall Street Journal - May 2018

References on employment law.

Nolo Press publishes respected self-help legal books, including books on employment law.

There is a "Legal Encyclopedia" section on their website https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/hr-employment-law
...which includes these articles, among others, on employment law. (Note: There is aggressive advertising on the Nolo website by lawyers looking for work.)

Wrongful Termination: Gathering Documentation   Employment At Will: What Does It Mean?

While we have no member reports on this specific book, here is the Nolo book that covers "Your Rights in the Workplace"

H-1B.  U.S. Department of Labor data on H-1B and Green Card applications is available online for any company. https://www.hpalumni.org/H-1B

Current status of major ongoing cases.

Employment suits move very slowly -- the class action concerning EDS/HP overtime was settled after nine years, 79 depositions, and 1.5 million pages of documents -- paying an average of $950 each.

HP/HPE age discrimination allegations. If you were WFRed by HP or HPE at 40 years of age or older between Dec 9, 2014 and Feb 15, 2022 -- and did *not* sign the Waiver in order to receive severance or retirement benefits -- you may have been eligible to join a lawsuit originally filed in 2016. (If AL, AR, GA, IN, MS, NC, or SD, first date is Apr 8, 2015.) At the time, the official notice was at: forsythhplitigation.com  Posted on the HPAlumni-Finance Forum 11/16/21. Those who received severance or a retirement incentive -- and therefore signed a Waiver and General Release Agreement -- were excluded from the settlement (minus lawyers' fees.) 
Status as of Sep 21, 2023.  Plaintiffs and Defendants have proposed a settlement that is scheduled to be approved by the Court on Oct 26, 2023. Details: hpalumni.org/EmploymentLawsuits-Forsyth

HPE California gender pay gap lawsuit settled. After four years of litigation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is paying $500 to $17,000 to 1,735 women who were actively employed in California by HPE between Nov 1, 2015 (HP/HPE split) and Sep 1, 2022. Does not include those who signed a waiver and release upon leaving, those who signed an arbitration agreement upon hiring, or college hires. "The Court has not made any determination of the validity of the claims in the Action. Defendant vigorously denies the claims in the Action and contends that it fully complied with all applicable laws."
Details: https://www.hpalumni.org/EmploymentLawsuits-Ross