Business & Office News
Retaliation, a California Labor Law Violation, on the Rise
"This company is also violating ERISA and workers' compensation labor laws, and not just in my case," Margie continues. "There are many complaints about the company. I want the public to be aware that this is a less than reputable company; I would like to warn you not to work there and be careful if you have STD or LTD disability and workers' compensation disability through them. They practice denial, denial, denial - and I'm not just talking as a disgruntled employee.
"My story began when I was threatened with bodily harm by a co-worker. I had to sit opposite this girl??"I am a senior disability benefits specialist and she was under me. I don't know if she had it in for me because of my age (I'm 52 and a grandmother) or because she was jealous of my position. 'I'm gonna do a smack-down on you,' she said. In my book that means she is going to beat the snot out of me...
"I went to HR and they launched an investigation. I also made my supervisors aware of what was going on and they complained about her to HR as well. They physically witnessed her abuse to me. HR gave her a written notice about one week later, telling her to cease and desist. But she didn't and the problem continued.
"I requested a transfer so we wouldn't have to work together. I was in another department but the girl still wouldn't leave me alone??"or my son.
"HR told me to ignore her and soon afterward I went on vacation for two weeks. While I was gone this woman attacked my 22-year-old son, who also works at the company. After work she saw him in his car and she tried to pull him out. 'I want to kick your ass so get out of the car now,' she screamed, in front of several witnesses. I guess he was the next best thing to me!
"Apparently my son just looked at her and started laughing. He got out of the car and said, 'If you don't calm down now I m calling the police." He told her to 'bounce', which means get lost.
"They questioned everyone about this incident but still did nothing. When they called this crazy woman into HR she even made verbal threats to the HR person (who told me). That's when they decided to fire her. The reason she wasn't fired earlier was because her mother was one of the managers in the company.
"Four weeks after she was fired, in retaliation, one of the managers transferred me to her mother's department. I was a forced transfer and there wasn't any reason to do this.
"Moving forward, I hurt myself at work and exercised my rights for STD so I could have a cervical neck fusion. (I had continuous trauma due to lifting heavy boxes frequently, and holding a phone to my ear and trying to type at the same time). When I returned to work after eight weeks, I had physician restrictions: no overtime, no driving, no picking up anything up over 10 lbs.
"I'd had a year-end performance review for the prior year and it was a decent review. But about six months later I was given a final written notice with no prior notice of any deficiencies. Prior notice must give you a time frame: you have to improve within a certain period of time or get terminated. But I was never given any previous notices.
"In this final written notice, I was told that I have to work overtime. And they tried to force me to work overtime but I refused, citing my doctor's restrictions. I ended up taking workers' compensation disability due to stress, anxiety and panic because of this notice. I saw this as a form of harassment because I couldn't work overtime and retaliation by the crazy woman's mother.
"They really made things difficult for me. For example, upon my return from STD I requested one of the keyboard trays for ergonomic reasons. I was made to wait more than six weeks, even though other employees who requested it got it within a week. They used every trick in the book in an attempt to get me to quit.
"They see me as a liability to their company because I had injured myself.
"The day I returned from STD the claims director decided it was funny to see me in a neck brace and laughed at me. Nice. Bottom line: prior to my final written notice I always had stellar reviews and increases and promotions and I got a raise three months prior to this notice. I am now 'out' of the company and believe I have been fired, but they haven't the grapes to formally tell me.
"I left on stress leave in December 2008 and got paid benefits exactly one year later. I'm still getting workers' comp but there has been no communication from the company. In fact, I hired a workers' comp attorney in February 2009, who took the company to court because they wouldn't pay my benefits. My case went to court in December and the judge immediately ordered the company to pay my benefits. But I didn't get any back pay??"we are going back to court for that."
The California Government's Department of Industrial Relations states: "An employee or job applicant alleging retaliation or discrimination in violation of any law under the jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner must file a complaint with the DLSE within six months of the adverse action. Adverse actions include unlawful discharge, demotion, suspension, reduction in pay or hours, refusal to hire or promote, etc."
Workers Owed $1 Million in California Labor Law Violation
California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet seeks the recovery of more than $1 million in unpaid wages, together with liquidated damages and other penalties in excess of $16.5 million.
According to the September 15th issue of Business Wire the red flags over FLM Law Center were first raised only recently, in May of this year. That's when complaints began to roll in to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) with regard to wage claims against the firm.
A subsequent investigation determined that FLM Law Center was allegedly not compensating their employees on the regularly established paydays. The DLSE determined that this conduct diverted about a million dollars from the pockets of employees who were entitled to the funds for hours legitimately worked.
"This company has committed egregious Labor Code violations by not paying their employees as required by law," said Bradstreet. "This lawsuit not only seeks restitution for their employees, but should also send a strong message to all employers that we won't stand for a company that cuts corners at the expense of their workers."
A Grievous Affront to California Employee Labor Law
The FLM Law Center is a fairly young facility, opening in December of last year. According to Business Wire the company listed two separate business addresses: a location on Irvine Center Drive in Irvine, with a second in Woodland Hills.
Labor Commissioner Bradstreet brought the lawsuit against the company in tandem with several additional entities and individuals believed to be alter ego and / or partners and affiliates with FLM Law Center.
California state labor laws, as well as laws observed by other states in concert with laws at the federal level, are designed to protect workers from the willful, or accidental neglect of employers with regard to their responsibilities to their employees. Various statutes govern things like lunch breaks and rest periods, working conditions, safety and the payment of wages for hours worked. The latter also often involves extra pay for additional hours worked, according to an overtime scale that guarantees any non-salaried employee will be properly compensated for working salutatory holidays, weekends, or any hours over and above the standard 40 hours that represent the standard work week.
Hostile Work Environment—Violation of California Labor Law?
"This past April there was an employee shooting at the hospital where I was working," explains Treena. "An employee working in outpatient pharmacy killed his manager, executive director and then himself. My job is to report to the command center and document everything when any incidents happen. I saw all the details of the event on security camera. At the time I was intent on doing my job and after the shooting my boss and I worked to coordinate crisis intervention counselors for about 5,000 hospital staff. I made sure everyone got counseling and departments were debriefed. But I couldn't get counseling because I was required to be in the office when the counselors were on site. There is no backup for me.
Instead, my boss was angry with me because I wasn't supporting her; I was too busy with this incident. In fact she was impeding my job.
Since then I have been very angry toward her and her manager because I wasn't provided with the assistance to help everyone and myself. I begged for help and couldn't get it. I went to the doctor for stress; I have lost more than 20 lbs, my hair has fallen out and I am emotionally unstable. When I complained of stress to my boss, I was ignored.
Now I am on stress leave. After the shooting I told my boss that I wanted to transfer to another department; we couldn't function as a team and I couldn't do my job. She said OK and wished the best for me. About one week later, the department secretary yelled at me twice and hung up the phone when my son called??"that was my breaking point. I felt that I was working in a hostile work environment and believe they have violated the California labor code. I never did get the transfer. Instead I was sent to HR for disciplinary action; I have never been in trouble in my life--I have almost 5 years of an unblemished record at this hospital.
I think if there is an opportunity where I make a mistake they will terminate me. Without warning. Isn't that a hostile environment?
I was talking with my pastor and he said I really have to see a therapist. I still want to transfer to another department and the position is still available. The director of that department was negotiating it but my boss won't allow it. I am hopeful that a lawyer can intervene and mediate this, and tell me whether they are indeed violating the California labor law…
I am seeing a therapist now but I am still very anxious and afraid. Even after the shooting I was in a situation where I was alone with someone who threatened to kill the staff. His father had surgery here and died of complications??"he was obviously very mad. And my boss knew about this incident but again, she didn't want to take care of the problem.
I believe I have been singled out because I applied for a transfer. Hospital policy requires that you notify your manager before requesting a transfer. It doesn't pay to be honest and adhere to the rules."
Are Hostile Work Environment Complaints Violations of the California Labor Law?
Unpaid Commissions
"Our company offers nutritional supplements by mail order and their tactics are legally questionable," says Katherine. "We get paid commission on how many customers we 'save' from canceling. When I was hired (October 1, 2008) I was told that I would be paid three dollars a save and was required to make 30 saves a month in order to be employed by the company. Within two weeks of being employed, they changed the minimum saves to 70 a month. They also changed the commission structure so that the employee was making less money. Then on November 1st, with the effective date November 1st, we received a memo changing the commission structure again where we would make less money; this happened two more times. Several of my co-workers lost hundreds of dollars in commission thanks to them changing the commission structure at the end of the month and backdating it to the beginning of them month.
We are also written up randomly even if we make their '70 saves' goal. I made 72 saves last month and was written up (and threatened with termination) for poor performance with my saves even though I met their written guidelines for how many saves were expected of me every month."
In the case Nein v. Hostpro, Inc.. filed 6/3/09 in the Court of Appeal in the State of California, the defendant argued that although commissions are wages under the Labor Code, contractual terms authorizing the commissions must be established before the wages are due. Katherine should study her contract: commission agreements need be carefully analyzed and drafted to maximize the likelihood that a court will uphold the language on which the employer bases its decisions regarding commission payments.
"We are often accused of things we did not do or threatened to be fired if we do not admit to them," says Katherine. " For example, someone left a note on my supervisor's desk. In order to find out who wrote the note, management called several employees they didn't like one by one into their office and accused them of writing the note. They threatened to fire them if they didn't admit to writing the note. This is just one of several things they've done to harass us."
Meal and Rest Breaks
"We are denied pay if we 'forget' to clock in from lunch and work for the hours," says Katherine. "It doesn't matter if the time clock malfunctions or not, they refuse to pay you for the hours you work. I have a memo from HR that states this. They will give people who they don't like "late" lunches. We work 8-5pm. If management does not like you, they will schedule your lunch at 3pm-4pm."
Employees must get a 10-minute break for every four hours worked provided that the work day is at least five hours long, and a 30 minute meal break if the workday is 6 hours or more.
In the State of California, employees can sue for violations of meal and rest break provisions going back a period of three years. In addition, it is likely that employees would be able to go back a total of four years under unfair competition laws. Previously, the DLSE ("California Labor Board") had restricted the claims to only a one year period. (During a five hour work day, an employee is required to receive a 30 minute break. During a ten-hour work day, an employee is required to receive two 30 minute breaks.)
Katherine says that she and several of her co-workers are losing thousands of dollars in commission due to their employer "backdating" the new commission structure. She adds that "management is clearly harassing several employees and myself, creating a hostile work environment. I have several employees who will come forward to attest to this. I also have work memos, copies of write-ups, and the employee handbook." Katherine is now seeking legal help.
California Labor Law Violations—Triple Whammy
Daniel has an exemplary employment record: he worked as a police officer for 10 years before changing careers??"he went to nursing school, graduated at the top of his class and got a job at a California medical center as a clinical review nurse.
He worked for a 18 months at Blue Shield as an Appeals and Grievance nurse. "At that time the department was first setting up and I was the 'go-to' man," says Daniel. " I received bonus awards and other department heads said I was excelling at my work. I did so well that the director asked if I would move into the quality department and do investigative work??"for members who had complaints against their doctors for quality of care, who were denied certain kinds of care, etc.
I had many responsibilities and I loved my work, until we had a management change. The new manager didn't like my work. I was constantly harassed by her and got depressed; I went on medical leave and eventually lost my job. Meanwhile I discovered that I wasn't getting paid the same amount of pay as my co-workers; they were also receiving fringe benefits that I wasn't getting such as a flexible work schedule.
We were all exempt and they were trying to put me on a schedule. As an exempt employee we were allowed certain freedoms that the hourly employees were not entitled to. As well, my female co-worker was new and inexperienced and was getting paid a lot more than me, and I trained her.
I think I was discriminated against because I am gay or it could be because I am male. For example, this new medical director called me into her office one day and said, 'You are challenged'. I assumed she meant knowledgably challenged in my work. She also said I didn't know how to write and that I was constantly late with my work. Nothing could have been further from the truth. This was very shocking and demoralizing.
She treated me like this constantly. I put up with her abuse for almost a year but my mental state was getting worse, to the point where I was dreading coming in to work--I had no choice, I needed my paycheck and I wasn't in the right head space to find another job.
I also reported the director to HR. They told her to give me the opportunity to take time off and do a performance improvement revue of my work. That got her even angrier and one day I just had a breakdown at work.
My unit manager and medical director called me into her office: they told me that my work was insufficient and they didn't like anything I did. I had a panic attack. I went back to my desk and couldn't breathe; then I got up, walked out the door and didn't return.
This happened at the beginning of 2008; I also filed with the EEOC; they sent a letter to Blue Shield saying the company has been charged with discrimination, retaliation and violation of the FLSA act. So far nothing has happened with government agencies so I decided to seek legal help.
I got another job six months later as the manager of quality management at the AIDS Health Care foundation. I didn't have any employees to supervise, it was essentially a title, but I was exempt so I was paid a salary. I worked almost every weekend and evenings??"in excess of 60 hours a week.
I started to get sick and depressed again??"I got the same symptoms back. I asked my supervisor for 2 days off but she denied me and stated, 'We don't owe you a living'. I am the hardest worker they had, I just don't get it. So I resigned.
I started this job at the end of April last year and worked until the beginning of February 2009; during that entire time there were only 4 weekends that I didn't work, so they owe me a substantial amount of overtime. I was the only person in this department so I had nobody to supervise. Why was I classified as exempt? I believe it was to avoid paying overtime."
Daniel has really been through the wringer with these two jobs. He is currently unemployed and in debt but looking for work in managed care or sales. And he is seeking legal help rather than wait for federal agencies to deal with these three California Labor Law violations.
Harassment by Women—A California Labor Law Violation
Camden worked the evening shift for a telemarketing company. He believes he was harassed by the two women and used as a scapegoat by one of the managers so they would "save face". If that is the case, a California state labor law has been violated. It all started when the night manager, Wendy, blamed him for the entire group of telemarketers not reading their script properly--the group was supposed to read the disclaimer: "This call may be recorded for quality control," after every call.
"One night, because Wendy [the manager] was not there, everyone took a recess from the disclaimer due to so many people not speaking English over the phone," says Camden. "Eileen [2nd in command] was the manager that night, and if we were at fault then no doubt it would be her duty to accept blame for the occasion and fix the situation immediately, but she didn't do anything.
Wendy was at home monitoring us--we weren't supposed to know. She was doing this because she did not want to be there in the evenings, and was basically abandoning her position as manager of the new campaign. Towards the end of that evening, Eileen was getting yelled at over the phone by Wendy and then she came over to my desk and told me to punch out because I was in trouble.
Because Wendy needed to rely on Eileen, I was the fall guy, I was blamed because Wendy didn't want to blame the manager. But why me? Perhaps because she felt that I had a strong character that was influencing the rest of the group; meaning that I am a 42-year- old white male who should be held responsible for others. I was accused of being the ringleader in the vice.
The next day Eileen wagged a pink slip in front of me saying I was that close to being fired. Then she started freaking out on me; she went on a rampage and started yelling at all of us. I told her that we needed someone else here in the evening.
She called the owner to get permission to fire me. I tried to reconcile??"I know she was about to pull the trigger. That evening I was trying my best, but I was working on a slow computer with cheap headphones. I was being monitored by Wendy the entire time; I got one call after another that started with, ' I don't speak English,' so I said, 'Thank you and have a good evening'. Wendy lost it. She dragged me into the conference room. 'Why aren't you probing the customers?', she screamed over and over again.
She backed me into a corner and sent me home. I knew I was fired. They confuse at-will employment with at-will harassment. They can do anything they want to get you fired. The end justifies the means. They can set you up and there is no legislation in the California labor law that says you cannot do that.
I talked to someone at the Department of Fair Housing and Employment. He couldn't do anything but send me a letter with alternatives. Then I went to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC). They just listen to your complaint and do nothing. So now I have to wait three months to make an appeal to the California Employment Development Department. In other words I have no income right now. I would have dropped the entire issue but for the fact that I am broke, so now I am going to seek legal help."
Institutions not above the California Labor Law
On every invoice, Caroline writes 'payable on receipt' but it often takes more than 60 days for her to receive payment. "The last time I waited for my check, I called my contact on day 31 and asked when I would receive the money," she says, exasperated. "I called twice and both times were told 'It is in accounting and out of my hands.' Then my contact went on vacation so I e-mailed accounting. Again I was up against a brick wall.
Next up, I called the small business association with the state of California??"on their website they have a liaison for prompt payment of vendor invoices from state agencies. They advised me to contact the state controller who then put me on to the auditor. I talked to the auditor and he said it is unprofessional and said they do have a time limit of 30 days??"max.
The auditor also said I need to contact the university accounting department to see if the check had indeed been cut. I called someone in the clerical department??"a friend??"and she found out that none of my invoices (I was waiting for 3) were actually in accounting. If I hadn't chased this down, I would still be in limbo and maybe not get paid for months.
I finally got it resolved and received one check a week later??"just the one that was overdue. 'You have to pay in a specific time', I said to the the health system contractor??"she is the person responsible. 'We are a university and we don't need to pay on time, neither do we pay interest or late fees,' she replied. She is a piece of work. I found out that a lot of contractors don't want to work with the university because, even though they pay, you never know when.
But the university is bound by state and federal law: they receive federal funding and my tax dollars; they think they are above the law and this is so frustrating. They have such a laissez-faire attitude; I have a mortgage and bills to pay and it is very difficult sometimes.
The head of the department finally apologized and sent me a note, so I'm hopeful that it won't happen again. I've been told that many contractors are abused by the university. Right now I want to get the word out so that people in my situation don't have to go through this; we are all in business together but not treated equally and in a professional manner. We are not respected and paid on time but we give 120 percent to them. Some people have advised me not to talk about this issue because they think I could lose the business. Then again I spent 3 days chasing down my money and that cuts into my work."
California Labor Law: "I was Wrongfully Terminated"
And Colleen intends to pursue it. Not only was she wrongfully terminated; she was also humiliated. Her boss called her into the HR office and said, "The hospital and our company are in agreement that a change in leadership has to happen so we are terminating you."
"I was numb," says Colleen. "My ears were ringing; it was so surreal that I couldn't even think. Then my boss handed me my final paycheck and told me to clear out my desk. They had security come into my office along with the VP of HR; they stood there in front of me while I packed my belongings??"while the staff and doctors looked on."
Colleen was the director of a wound care program. She explains that her position involved a triad where 2 other managers help and collaborate with her: one is the medical director and the other is the clinical manager, but Colleen has overall responsibility for the outcome of the clinic, above and beyond the two managers.
But they didn't help her; instead Colleen found herself working 60-hour weeks, 7 days a week. To make matters worse, both managers were living together: nepotism is usually a recipe for disaster. "I found this out on my first day of work," says Colleen," and my boss confirmed it was true. This is a small hospital; if an employee has a problem with one manager, how do you go to the other one with a complaint?
"The medical director let me know early on that he didn't want this position; he proved that by doing nothing except collect a paycheck; meanwhile the VP of nursing called me into her office and said, 'You need to know the clinical manager has some problems with this hospital'. And I was trying to get this new clinic going??"not having either of them doing their work caused me a lot of grief, to say the least.
Anyway, I got the clinic going by myself, without their help. But I told my boss that we would likely have problems when we go operational. She told me to start a disciplinary documentation process, which I did. The clinical manager had never been disciplined in the past so it might look like my inability to work with them, but the VP of HR and the VP of nursing told me to document everything meticulously, which I did, with witnesses present.
After 6 months of dragging this elephant up the hill, the VPs suggested the clinical manager take another position in the hospital, which she did, but she also told the VP of HR that I had created a hostile work environment. They investigated but it didn't bear out her claims.
The VP of nursing moved to another hospital and I reported to a new boss who didn't know about these issues-- that I never had any help or support. But because we had personnel issues, they terminated me. I have a stellar performance record, despite all the obstacles. And I was exhausted, mentally and physically because they refused to give me time off, they knew I was the only game in town, I was the only one getting the job done.
The only reason they gave to terminate me was that they wanted new leadership. I believe it was because my new boss panicked: if we didn't get the staff under control we would lose the contract with the hospital. So she blamed me??"it was easier. This hospital is union and in my opinion, it cultivates an environment of poor work ethic. I expected people to show up and work for 8 hours, not sit around and read magazines and gossip.
My termination is beyond comprehension. The other directors I worked with are in shock??"they couldn't believe it. I had great relationships in that hospital and I exceeded the national standards of my company. But my new boss thought she might loose the contract; I believe she was overwhelmed with her new job and rather than deal with everyone else's bad behavior, I was fired.
In the past two days I've been busy getting my resume together. I am going to the labor board this week to file a grievance and my next step is to seek legal help."
California Labor Law: A Double Dose of Discrimination
In June 2007 Patricia was hired as a receptionist for a large office building. She had to start on a Tuesday because she replaced Anne, the receptionist who was fired on Monday.
"I worked for this company until January 11," says Patricia. "I helped plan their opening grand ceremony in July and planned the entire Christmas party for 200 staff by myself." In other words, Patricia was a hard and loyal worker and there was no reason to fire her based on performance.
"In November, Anne was hired back as a sales manager but she didn't have any sales experience," Patricia adds. "Then on January 11, the owner of the building walked up to me with check in hand??"he paid me until the end of January but told me to pack up my desk and leave. The reason he gave was 'financial constraints on the company'.
Stay with me here: This owner also owned a storage company in the same building and Anne was helping the storage office manager out because he had fired an employee. Why wasn't she working as a sales manager? I soon found out…
I was fired on Friday and I found out on Monday that Anne's sister was hired for the storage office and they put Anne at my desk. The part that annoys me is that I am short and overweight. Anne is tall, young and thin. I am 52 and Anne is about 28. And the storage office manager is Anne's brother so now they have hired three family members. But my complaint is that they lied to me and I have been discriminated against. They can pay Anne my receptionist job so why couldn't they pay me?
Until the first part of April, 2008 I was unemployed and it was a financial blow. Unemployment benefits only paid about half of my regular wages. I was filing applications online on countless sites, looking for a receptionist position but couldn't find anything. Then in early April I got a call from American Income Life (AIL) insurance company to come in for an interview. When I got a call for this position, to sell life insurance, I was a bit dubious because I don't consider myself a good salesperson??"I am not a pushy person and to me that is what sales is all about. But I needed a job.
I had an initial outlay of $400 for the test, book materials and school and then it took about six weeks until I got my insurance license. Since the end of May of this year until now I have made less than $4,000. I didn't qualify for the unemployment extension so I was cut off. I still have a chance to appeal but now I had this job, however miniscule the pay. I only made one sale last week.
My manager at AIL told me I was dragging her numbers down and I had to make a minimum amount of sales for the week. I couldn't make that target and she said I had to turn in a minimum of $1,000 annual life premiums or hand in my resignation--nice environment to work in. I wasn't told that I had to make these targets when I was hired, before I shelled out $400. She is the kind of manager who focuses on those salespeople making money and treats others like dirt.
It's been a hard blow on my self-esteem, this double discrimination whammy. Physically it has taken its toll--I have gained weight due to stress eating. And I am exhausted. When I worked for AIL I was putting in an average of eight hours a day, seven days a week, plus I had to drive everywhere. I would call people and set up appointments and pay for my own gas??"about $150 per week in gas money??"that was supposed to be deducted at the end of the year. I kept the receipts for tax purposes but don't know if I will get paid from AIL. Of course I was let go…
The job I have now is strictly at a desk but I have insomnia, I think it is because of dealing with discrimination. I tried to contact the California labor board but I can't get hold of a real person. Its website states there is a six-month statute of limitations on being fired for discriminatory reasons. I filed outside that limit??"so now my next step is to seek legal help."
California Labor Law: No Promotion Spells Discrimination
Being promised a promotion and then overlooked six times has taken its toll on Alice. Not only has she suffered from anxiety and depression, she has also suffered physically. "I've been living with chronic stomach pains and debilitating fatigue," she says, all of which were documented by her physician. And no wonder: for the past two years, Alice has also been harassed and humiliated by co-workers and her manager. When she complained to the HR manager, Alice was told that she might want to consider "finding someplace else to work."
In 2006 Alice was hired as a sales representative for a start up Internet company. "I was the fourth sales rep hired and we had this great, diverse team," says Alice. "It was exciting and I learned a lot; it was a very progressive company."
Fast forward one year. "My boss, who was phenomenal, finally quit. She had so much pressure because she was a lesbian: someone at work Googled her name and pulled up some background information. They found out that she was involved in a lawsuit years ago??"she was suing the company for wrongful dismissal and now she was being forced to quit. She was the best boss I ever had and interestingly, the only female in a managerial position??"there are about 200 or 250 employees in this company and I think that really says something…
They treated her so badly; she wasn't involved in any decisions and was given more than the cold shoulder. And they brought in a younger white male to replace her??"seems like a pattern here because I was treated the same way.
Her quotas were exceeded every month; she did above and beyond what she was asked to do. At this time I was an account manager and ready to be promoted to a higher sales position. When I pursued it, the VP said I should stay in my role for a few months until the new director was acclimated.
So I waited.
The new guy promoted two younger white males ahead of me. Then a third white male was hired: all three had less experience than me and poor performance records. I excelled in my job and there was no reason not to get promoted. In retrospect I am a little naïve because I kept thinking that my turn was coming. Meanwhile, the new director and I were not getting along. I had to change my work hours to suit his schedule and he treated me like his assistant.
I guess it all came to a head when we had a meeting one day and the new director referred to me as 'Mmmhmmm girlfriend,' and snapped his fingers. He was treating me like I was from the ghetto, like a second-class citizen. He doesn't say that to white girls. I went to HR about it and filed a complaint.
A few days later the HR manager called me into his office and said if I was unhappy I should work somewhere else. 'You have a new boss now and I think you are giving him a hard time because you miss J (who quit).' I was so stressed out that I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Plus I was having anxiety attacks. My doctor advised me to leave my job but I thought my doctor didn't understand--the guys on the team still needed me and I wanted to be there for them.
Next morning at 8am, the new director made us chant, 'I am a believer.' It was humiliating, like some tacky evangelist. I'd break out in a sweat; I would freak out having to do this. Everybody else felt like me, nobody wanted to do it.
I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the CRO (corporate revenue officer) and he promised to make some changes but three months go by and no change. Instead, I was ostracized.
A position was posted on the website looking for a sales person. I told the VP I was going to apply but he told me not to??"they weren't hiring for another 90 days. I applied anyway. One week later a new rep was hired: wait for it??"a young, white male.
Two more males were hired ahead of me. It was a repetitive pattern??"the same treatment as J. I filed a complaint with the equal opportunity commission (EOC) which is tied to the civil rights act and I told the VP that I was being overlooked for promotion. I sent the VP an email saying: ' I know you aren't hiring based on experience, Is it because I am a woman?
'We aren't passing you over because you are black,' she replied. I had never even mentioned the color of my skin. She wanted me to rescind the complaint.
And here is another slap in the face: I made the largest monetary deal in the company, ever. They decide to have an award ceremony every month. The guy who brought in $30,000 got a trophy and my deal was $1.7 million. I didn't even get a Timex watch.
It was time for me to go. Since leaving my health has improved, no more nightmares, no night sweats. Even though I haven't found another position yet, my self-esteem is back.
I want them to admit they were wrong. I was the only African-American female not in a subordinate position: this is LA, it's a melting pot. Obviously they had a preference for young white males."
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