> and possibly even win, given that it's probably hard to back up a lot of these accusations in a way that would hold up in court
Assuming I didn't sign any explicit agreement (like as part of a settlement), if I say, "I did not find X to be a good employer because of Y", I do not believe it is necessary to prove Y in court in order to win a defamation suit.
But we're both guessing. I would say that your side would be easier to find evidence of, though, if you're right: do you know of, or can you find, examples of this sort of suit being brought and won?
I can understand blue collar workers in a depressed industrial town, but I can't understand elite tech workers tolerating that stuff. I think part of it is youth, and letting people boss you around without being a leader. Sometimes banishing people from your professional circle is called for. Taking a risk of losing a job by standing up for yourself is a powerful lesson to take away and you might be shocked how beneficial it can be to career growth.
There is such a high demand in the bay area for skilled engineers that there is absolutely no reason to stay into any of those startups that treat you like codemonkey. I would leave the first day I have an "ethical" remark after taking a 15` break
After about a year there I learned about half my team was taking Adderall to keep up. After a two week stint of working until 11am every day of the week I got called back into the office at 12:00 midnight by the CEO and the next day I had to call in sick because I was shivering and cold because of sleep depravation. I started putting out resumes that day.