• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Another question regarding: Whistle Blowing

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Ataylor_2005

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Illinois


I was recently terminated from my place of employment due to (what I wholeheartedly believe was) Whistle Blowing. There had been an employee who worked for this company for well over 18 years. Well this man use to (on a daily basis, mind you) physically (not towards me) and verbally (this is where I come in) sexually harrass employee's.

The discrimination at this place was so thick it could literally hold up a wall. The majority of the employees there, including the supervisor and the man who was harrasing everyone were all of one race. They pretty much stuck together when anything that wasn't righ took place.

So the first time I had complained to teh supervisor about this, he said he would take care of it and never did. To make a long story short, I complained two more times; again to the first supervisor and then to the 3rd shift supervisor and nothing changed.

Three weeks following my first complaint, the supervisor that I complained to asked me in his office and said that he had "bad news". I shocked at the moment; asked him what bad news he had. He stated that I just wasn't fit for the job, and that he would have to terminate me because I wasn't doing my job good enough. At the time, I hadn't heard of the whistle blowing law, so I kept going back and forth with him explaining to him that I was in fact a good employee. I asked him why it was that he NEVER reprimands any other employee, even though they ALWAYS seem to break every rule in the book, yet he wanted to reprimand me, the person who followed every instruction, was NEVER late once (when every other employee was at least 5 minutes and up to three hours late EVERYDAY).

Anyway, I don't know what got into him, but he said he would give me another chance, which I found to be hilarious (not technically speaking).

So since that day, I was being stressed out by the supervisor and his brother every single day. I would make the smallest mistake and the supervisor always said that it would cost me my job. Anything that happened, he always said that it would cost me my job.

Anyway, a few months later, after this thing with the employee who was discriminating didn't stop, I said enough is enough and I went and told the manager, which is of the same race as the supervisor. He said that he would look into the problem and let me know what the results within a few days. So he started questioning all of the employees, including the supervisors regarding this matter.

A few days later, they suspended him for a week without notice, and from what I heard; they gave both supervisors a warning. He asked how I felt about how they handled it and I said that I would have been completely fine with whichever decision they would have made.

So now a few days go by, and one of my co-workers tell me that they fired this employee. I ask him why, and he says that the managers said that he wasn't doing his job. Lord knows if that's truly why they fired him or not, who's to say?

Anyway, after a few months of stressing day in and day out with these employees and this supervisor, working 12 hour shifts on top of all that, I accidentally dropped a piece of merchandise while driving a forklift. The supervisor made it seem as I had cost the company a million dollars (which another employee had done, and was not fired) and wrote me up.

They were on my a** every day, and I know I use to stress it so much, worrying about not losing my job, that it truly affected the way I worked. I wasn't thinking about doing my job, or even better yet doing it right, all I was thinking about was what he was going to complain about next, and whether he would have a reason to fire me.

Finally, he got his wish, I was driving the forklift (which I was NEVER trained to drive) while transporting two 700 pound rolls. These two rolls were stacked on top of each other (making them approx. 1400 plbs.) and supported, by (literally) a semi-thin piece of wood. I went to make a left turn and the skid which held these two rolls tilted to the right and fell to the floor.

So the next day comes and the supervisor goes to the manager’s office right away and tells him about this incident. The manager calls me to his office and tells me that they tried working with me and they can’t anymore. I tried explaining to him what had happened but he just did not want to hear it. So I asked him if I could speak to the owner and he said that he wasn't available.

So I went to the front of the building, and asked to speak with the owner, and they said that I had to set up an appointment. I did, but then realized, what would be the point? It would be a biased meeting. The owner (or whomever) wouldn't want someone like me (a whistle blower) to work for their company anyway.

Anyway, my question is whether I have a strong case towards file a complaint against this company or not. Keeping in mind that I did in fact drop two rolls, which the supervisor said wasn't a big deal because they could always take them in the back and rewind them to their original place.

I hope this wasn't too long of a post. ANY help is greatly appreciated. Also, any questions and comments are welcome.

Take care,
-Anthony
 


pattytx

Senior Member
It WAS too long of a post. However, if I got the gist of it by the time I stopped reading, it appears that you MAY have been fired as retaliation for reporting sexual harrassment in the workplace, which is prohibited by law. I believe the proper jurisdiction for this complaint is the EEOC, but I'm not positive; someone who knows will be along later, I'm sure.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Yes, the EEOC would be the correct jurisdiction. That and/or the state human rights commission.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top