Help Wyatt fight $3M federal anti-labor lawsuit

TLDR: My former employer, LoanStreet (NY) , is suing me for at least three million dollars in federal court because I warned potential employees about how LoanStreet verbally communicated one vesting schedule for my equity compensation before I was hired; chose a different and delayed vesting schedule after I was hired; and finally fired me without warning in the middle of the COVID hiring freeze right before the delayed vesting date, refused to vest any of the equity, and paid me no severance. Please donate now to support my expensive legal defense.

Last month, I was overwhelmed by the positive response of online forums for workers in the technology industry when I shared the story of my experiences with LoanStreet. Thousands of people went out of their way to read, upvote, and comment on my posts, spreading the message far and wide. It was amazing to see people from around the world join forces to protect workers from exploitative opportunists.

In response, LoanStreet is suing me for at least three million dollars in U.S. federal court.

LoanStreet's legal complaint against me is riddled with inaccuracies, accusing me of all sorts of things I had nothing to do with. Attempting to discredit me and distract from its lack of any supporting evidence, LoanStreet drags my name through the mud with defamatory lies about my professional abilities and my motivation for sharing my experience, using phrases like "intent of...whipping up an angry mob"; "acted maliciously, oppressively, with an improper and evil motive"; "delusions of grandeur"; "wickedness of [my] intentions”; and "pernicious intentions.” I'm not sure if I'm being sued by LoanStreet or Charles Dickens.

I could have remained silent and avoided this huge personal risk, but I shared my story so that others could avoid going through what I went through. Now, LoanStreet's lawsuit could bankrupt me and erase my warning from the internet forever, leaving others oblivious to the dangers of working there.

Defending yourself in federal court is extremely expensive. Hourly rates for lawyers approach $1000. The full process could cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I'm not backing down, though, because bullies like LoanStreet need to be stopped before they find more victims.

I’ve already spent thousands of dollars of my own money, but I need your support to continue the fight.

Please donate now to show LoanStreet that we will fight as long as is necessary to be vindicated by the truth in court.

Why do I say "we"?

Because this case is about more than just me and one shameless company. It’s about you, too. It's about all at-will employees, who live in danger of being fired without notice, at any time, for almost any reason, no matter how much they've done for their company. It’s about workers who can’t even warn each other about unethical employers because of the risk of being taken to court and possibly bankrupted for telling the truth, as is happening to me. It’s about all of us who have been taken advantage of by the powerful.

If LoanStreet's censorship and bullying are allowed to prevail, it will embolden immoral employers across America and have a chilling effect on our federally-guaranteed right as workers to "take group action for our mutual aid and protection regarding terms and conditions of employment."

Please, donate now to support my legal defense and send a message to all the LoanStreets of the world: that when they attack one of us, they attack all of us. And we will fight back. Tell them we will not be frightened by illegal, mandatory non-disparagement agreements into giving up our right to warn each other about predatory employers.

GoFundMe guarantees that donations go toward their intended use.

Any unused funds will be donated to Code.org. For every dollar donated to Code.org, one child will be introduced to computer science. The organization has a 100% Charity Navigator rating.

Thank you for your support. Together, we will show LoanStreet and all employers of its ilk that the era of taking advantage of workers with impunity is over.

PSA: If you believe your employer has violated your rights under the National Labor Relations Act, you can file a charge and the National Labor Relations Board will investigate and come to a decision, at no financial cost to you.