Job Discrimination and Harassment

[cjwatts60]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law?) LOUISIANA



I've been employed for four years on my job with no complaints from anybody except for my supervisor not liking me and always trying to find a way to fire me. Okay I had 10 hallways to clean,the lobby,the community center,two rest rooms,6 balconys,7 stairways,dump tenants garbage,plus clean the grounds.All the halls would be done in 2 or 3 days,I would do the grounds once or twice a week.Everything else done in between.everything would be done before friday.So in my last two months of employment she put us on a time clock but she would never check it.As long as I've work there I never had to do work order. So she put me on work order to time me.It took me the whole day to clean 10 hallways,the lobby,and sumetimes I manage to get to the community center.She did'nt check my work orders either.Then she demote me to 4 hrs a day working 20 hrs a wk,no more benefits,plus she tells me I don't get a break either.So talk to the head man and he tells me the supervisor said she did'nt need me for 8 hrs no more and it was her idea to demote me,but when I confront her,she tell me that she had nothing to do with it.Feb./2012 I finally get to talk to the head man again about my supervisor harassment I get fired,but he tells his reason is because he heard I've been petioning.I forgot to mention that I also filed a sexual harassment charge back in sept./2011.Will my case stand up in court?

 

[Banned_Princess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law?) LOUISIANA



I've been employed for four years on my job with no complaints from anybody except for my supervisor not liking me and always trying to find a way to fire me. Okay I had 10 hallways to clean,the lobby,the community center,two rest rooms,6 balconys,7 stairways,dump tenants garbage,plus clean the grounds.All the halls would be done in 2 or 3 days,I would do the grounds once or twice a week.Everything else done in between.everything would be done before friday.So in my last two months of employment she put us on a time clock but she would never check it.As long as I've work there I never had to do work order. So she put me on work order to time me.It took me the whole day to clean 10 hallways,the lobby,and sumetimes I manage to get to the community center.She did'nt check my work orders either.Then she demote me to 4 hrs a day working 20 hrs a wk,no more benefits,plus she tells me I don't get a break either.So talk to the head man and he tells me the supervisor said she did'nt need me for 8 hrs no more and it was her idea to demote me,but when I confront her,she tell me that she had nothing to do with it.Feb./2012 I finally get to talk to the head man again about my supervisor harassment I get fired,but he tells his reason is because he heard I've been petioning.I forgot to mention that I also filed a sexual harassment charge back in sept./2011.Will my case stand up in court?

your case for what? you were fired legally, file for unemployment, and move on.

 

[cbg]

Before we get too carried away with absolutes, let's double check a few issues here.

Was the sexual harassment charge filed against the supervisor that you say hates you?

Did her treatment of you change in any way after you filed the complaint?

With whom did you file the complaint and did the SEXUAL behavior stop?

 

[ESteele]

If you filed a “sexual harassment charge” with the EEOC or a FEPA, it is possible the reduction of your hours and/or your termination were retaliation for filing the charge. You should promptly advise the investigator of your situation and explore filing an amended charge to include a retaliation claim.

If you had not filed a discrimination charge, you were an at-will employee and this matter did not involve any other law or contract, then your employer would apparently have the right to reduce your hours or to terminate you at its whim. It would not matter whether you had done your job competently, if not excellently, in the past.

Accordingly, the key here, in my opinion, is whether your employer took these adverse actions following the filing of your harassment charge. Again, you want to preserve this claim by amending your charge accordingly.

 

[cbg]

the key here,... is whether your employer took these adverse actions following the filing of your harassment charge

To be absolutely accurate, and I realize that I am splitting hairs but I think it's an important hair, the key is not only whether these actions were taken following the filing of the harassment charge, but also whether these actions would have been taken REGARDLESS of the harassment charge. If, and I do not believe we have sufficient information to say one way or the other, the actions would have been taken anyway, then that is not illegal even if the adverse actions were taken subsequent to the filing of the harassment charge. On the other hand, if the trigger for the adverse actions WAS the harassment charge, then that IS illegal.

I absolutely agree that the timing is suspicious, and I am leaning in the direction of illegal based on what we have. Based on what we have, however, I don't think we can make an absolute declaration one way or the other.

 

[ESteele]

I do not disagree, cbg. However, you are addressing a slightly different question. You have addressed what the OP will ultimately need to prove in order to prevail on a retaliation claim. The first step, of course, is to file a retaliation charge (or otherwise initiate a retaliation claim).

In her post, the OP has presented an outline of the facts sufficient to support filing a claim, IMHO. Of course, filing a retaliation claim and winning a retaliation claim are different constructs. In order to be successful, she (and her counsel and/or agency representative) will generally have to establish that the rebuttal explanation the employer eventually offers is not worthy of credence and is indeed a pretext for a retaliatory animus.

 

[cbg]

Understood, ESteele. I was just concerned that the poster might read your post (as I initially did) as saying that as long as the adverse action was taken after she filed her harassment charge, that meant her termination was DEFINITELY illegal. I know you know better, but the way you initially worded it (or at least as I initially read it) could have been misleading.