> Really, who cares?

Apparently, both companies cared. Cared deeply. Hence the coordinated firing.

> If they're getting their job done, who are you to tell another man what he can do with his body?

Quite literally, employment contracts stipulate Basic requirements such as working hours and availability.

If an employee says he's pulling 40h/week but he's actually pulling around 20h/week, if that, then the question of fraud is up.

If this was supposed to be a non-issue, why go through so much trouble to hide it?

> Apparently, both companies cared. Cared deeply. Hence the coordinated firing.

Seems like collusion, wage suppression, interference with business and interference with employment. I hope this guy sues the crap out of OP's company.

> If an employee says he's pulling 40h/week but he's actually pulling around 20h/week, if that, then the question of fraud is up.

If an employee is getting 40 hours of work done per week, then I don't see the problem.

> If this was supposed to be a non-issue, why go through so much trouble to hide it?

Because it's none of their business.

> Seems like collusion (...)

It's as much collusion as it would be if two victims of fraud agreed to go together to the police to press charges.

> If an employee is getting 40 hours of work done per week, then I don't see the problem.

You're not.

> Because it's none of their business.

What they put in the contract is unequivocally their business, don't you think?

> You're not.

I'm the most productive engineer on both of my teams and have been for the 4 years I've been working at both companies. I don't tell them. Nor do I tell them about my sexual proclivities, my rental income, my residuals on several albums I produced nor my stock, crypto and portfolio income. I manage all of that a little bit of "company time", whatever that means.

> What they put in the contract is unequivocally their business, don't you think?

No. We are forced to sign a ton of unfair contracts just for the privilege of working our asses off to make other people rich.

In this case it evolved to more like 0-3h max per week.

No, he was not doing job well at all, was on the way out really when we found out; after maybe a month or two after staring missing majority of meetings due to long list of random personal issues started paired with extremely low output.

Working full time means working full time, not fraction of a time maybe while I also work for N other companies.

agreed. You have no right to coordinate with the other employer. Just plain cowardly.

I spent 20 years having 2 jobs. Obviously, full disclosed to the employer. I was in the Marine reserves. Employers don't like sharing, even if it's for the good of the country.