You fire an employee and take away his laptop. Six months later, the company asks for his password, and the debate breaks out
A Reddit post went viral after a former employee was asked for their laptop password six months after being fired.
A post on Reddit’s r/antiwork has gone viral after a user shared a story about an employer who requested the password to the worker’s work computer six months after firing them.
Since the story was posted on Reddit, it can’t be independently verified, but it raises legal questions about what employers can reasonably ask of former employees.
The original poster (OP) shared an email from their former employer requesting the password to the laptop they had used. The OP also offered some context about their firing, explaining that the company admitted they had “put the cart before the horse” by hiring someone before they were truly ready to expand the team. The OP had only worked there for a month before being let go.
The email began with the request, explaining that the company was “Internet.” The sender promised “utmost confidentiality” and asked the former employee to share the password.
The responses to the post were entertaining. Some commenters joked that they wouldn’t even remember the password after six months, making the request pointless. Others criticized the company for its lack of professionalism. One user wrote, “Any company worth its salt would be able to get into that computer immediately.” That same commenter softened their stance slightly after realizing the device in question was a Mac, not a PC.
The OP seemed to enjoy the conversation the post sparked. When asked about the company’s IT department, they described it as “a shit show” and said they were “glad they terminated [him] when they did.” The OP joins a growing number of workers who have turned to the Internet after being asked to provide sensitive information by a former employer.