Was I wrongfully terminated? Can I sue?

[Serp]

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

I just got a phone call saying I'm fired from my job. I don't know what actions to take so I looked for a legal forum online, and here I am.

Here is the truth with nothing held back:

I was at work at Jimmy Johns. (It's a sub shop that delivers, kinda like subway but with delivery.)

A female employee in front of several other employees and some customers called me gay completely un-provoked. I don't like this girl so I never speak to her good or bad.

I walk by my junior-Manager (Adam) and say: "I think I'd like to file sexual harassment."

The girl chimes in: "It's not harassment, you really are gay." With no smile on her face, no chipper tone, just straight "Bitchyness"

I look my manager dead in the eye with a look that could kill and said "I want to file a complaint Now!"

He laughs and says it was just a joke

I tell him that if he doesn't report the sexual harassment charge then I want the Owner's phone number and I'm going home to call him.

He finally gets the point that I'm serious and calls the store manager to see what to do.

He calls me in the back and tells me this. "I spoke to Chris, he said you can get back to work, or you can file the complaint and go home."

Yes, those are my 2 options. Ignore what happened and keep my job, or file harassment and get fired. Is that illegal?

So I go back to work without pushing the claim since I need my job.

Today (The day after the incident) I get a phone call 10 minutes before my shift and the store manager tells me I'm fired.

I asked him why and he said it was because I threatened to leave.

The girl still has her job and was not punished.

What actions would/could I take? Do I get a copy of everything I signed when I started there? Do I get a copy of the store handbook and look at the section about termination? I have 2 lawyers.

I was told I should call the company and speak to the owner and say. "If conditions were changed I'd be more than willing to return to work." Then if that didn't work to call my lawyer or get in touch with a local business bureau.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


If someone wants to get a hold of me for dialogue

AIM- XYNADN
Yahoo- [email protected]

 

[eerelations]

What occurred was not sexual harassment as it's defined by law, and as a result, it was perfectly legal for your former employer to fire you for making such a big deal about it.

I'm curious about something though - what did your two lawyers tell you about this? And why did you then post your issue here?

 

[mlane58]

Agreed, being gay in Indiana is not a protected class as of yet, so you don't have a case and one comment or gesture doesn't consitute a valid charge.

 

[Serp]

Umm... I'm not gay. It was a hostile remark from a coworker. It made a hostile work environment, and I haven't heard back from my lawyer. They're at work right now and I'm personal friends with them so I have to wait for them to get off then they'll help me.

The poster in the back of the store for the Indiana terms of sexual harassment state that calling someone gay or homosexual is sexual harassment, it's in the store, right by the manager's desk.

Either way, I wanted to lodge a complaint and was threatened to be fired for it.

 

[mlane58]

Umm... I'm not gay. It was a hostile remark from a coworker. It made a hostile work environment, and I haven't heard back from my lawyer. They're at work right now and I'm personal friends with them so I have to wait for them to get off then they'll help me.

The poster in the back of the store for the Indiana terms of sexual harassment state that calling someone gay or homosexual is sexual harassment, it's in the store, right by the manager's desk.

Either way, I wanted to lodge a complaint and was threatened to be fired for it.

To meet the definition of a hostile work enviroment, the employee must be able to show that s/he is being subjected to either sexual harassment or illegal discrimination under Title VII (race, gender, religion, national origin, age etc.). It has nothing to do with the atmosphere of your workplace or your sexual orientation in Indiana, no matter how unpleasant it may be.

 

[justalayman]

contrary to the general opinion here, Indiana does view unwelcome sexual comments as sexual harassment. I believe mlane hit it right when stating that one incident may not be considered a big deal BUT I believe the firing and apparent lack of taking action against the offender may weigh heavily against your former employer in this situation.


here is a link to a brochure from the state of Indiana.

http://www.in.gov/icrc/files/harassement_eng.pdf

read it thoroughly. It speaks to what is considered sexual harassment, what an employer should and should not do (tell yo to go home or fire you is a no no) and who you can file a complaint with.

here is an excerpt from another Indiana source.

http://www.in.gov/spd/files/harassrandp.pdf

Sexual Harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. The behavior need not be intentional in order to be considered sexual harassment.
Examples of conduct of a sexual nature include, but are not limited to: unwanted sexual advances; demands for sexual favors in exchange for favorable treatment or continued employment; repeated sexual jokes, flirtations, advances or propositions; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; graphic, verbal commentary about an individual's body, sexual prowess or sexual deficiencies; leering; whistling; touching; pinching; assault; coerced sexual acts; suggestive, insulting, obscene comments or gestures; display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects or pictures. This behavior is unacceptable in the workplace itself and in other work-related settings such as business trips and business-related social events.

 

[justalayman]

To meet the definition of a hostile work enviroment, the employee must be able to show that s/he is being subjected to either sexual harassment or illegal discrimination under Title VII (race, gender, religion, national origin, age etc.). It has nothing to do with the atmosphere of your workplace or your sexual orientation in Indiana, no matter how unpleasant it may be.

um, yes it does mlane.

 

[cbg]

Um, no it doesn't, JAL, not as the poster has described it.

There was a single incident. That is not enough for a harassment claim. Additionally, I don't see where sexual orientation is protected in Indiana.

 

[mitousmom]

If your employer has 15 or more employees, consult with EEOC. First, being called gay - whether true or not - is a sexual comment and can be harassment if unwelcome. As noted, however, it is unlikely that one comment will rise to the level of illegal harassment unless it is exceptionally severe and there is nothing to suggest this comment was.

However, your employer's option that you can file a sexual harassment complaint or ignore the unwelcome conduct if you want to keep your job violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. A covered employer is required to conduct an inquiry into an allegation of sexual harassment, not to tell the employee is he fired if he plans to file a complaint.

 

[justalayman]

Um, no it doesn't, JAL, not as the poster has described it.

There was a single incident. That is not enough for a harassment claim. Additionally, I don't see where sexual orientation is protected in Indiana.

from my post above:

Sexual Harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when

(3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment

verbal abuse of a sexual nature; graphic, verbal commentary about an individual's body, sexual prowess or sexual deficiencies; leering; whistling; touching; pinching; assault; coerced sexual acts; suggestive, insulting, obscene comments or gestures;

I do not see how a comment, especially since it was intended to act as the section numbered "3" above, cannot be considered sexual harassment as defined by the state of Indiana.

Did I say that the excerpt and the other brochure I posted a link to are from the state of Indiana government and are addressing sexual harassment in the workplace?

and I never said sexual orientation was a protected class. Sexual harassment has nothing to do with a protected class. It is simply a dissallowed action.

PLease, also take note I considered the single event in my post. As I stated then, that could be a stumbling block but the fact the employer threatened to send the OP home and has since been terminated, I believe the Indiana Civil Rights Commission may see it in a similar light as I.

Since OP is unemployed he really has nothing to lose by at least filing a complaint.

as mitousmom posted, the employers action by itself may very well be an additional infraction of OP's civil rights per the federal rules.

 

[Zigner]

from my post above:





I do not see how a comment, especially since it was intended to act as the section numbered "3" above, cannot be considered sexual harassment as defined by the state of Indiana.

Did I say that the excerpt and the other brochure I posted a link to are from the state of Indiana government and are addressing sexual harassment in the workplace?

and I never said sexual orientation was a protected class. Sexual harassment has nothing to do with a protected class. It is simply a dissallowed action.

PLease, also take note I considered the single event in my post. As I stated then, that could be a stumbling block but the fact the employer threatened to send the OP home and has since been terminated, I believe the Indiana Civil Rights Commission may see it in a similar light as I.

Since OP is unemployed he really has nothing to lose by at least filing a complaint.

as mitousmom posted, the employers action by itself may very well be an additional infraction of OP's civil rights per the federal rules.

I'll take a stab at this:
Because the word "gay" is not a sexual word per se.

 

[Serp]

I'll take a stab at this:
Because the word "gay" is not a sexual word per se.

In my case it was. She was implying that I was homosexual with her statement.

 

[justalayman]

I'll take a stab at this:
Because the word "gay" is not a sexual word per se.

meriam webster:

Main Entry: 1gay
Pronunciation: \ˈgā\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gai, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German gāhi quick, sudden
Date: 14th century
1 a: happily excited : merry <in a gay mood> b: keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits <a bird's gay spring song>
2 a: bright, lively <gay sunny meadows> b: brilliant in color
3: given to social pleasures; also : licentious
4 a: homosexual <gay men> b: of, relating to, or used by homosexuals <the gay rights movement> <a gay bar>
synonyms see lively
— gay adverb
— gay·ness noun

it is a sexual comment. Honestly, I know of nobody that uses the word gay as it was originally used (as in definitions 1 and 2 above). In todays modern lexicon, it has become nothing other than a sexual comment.

 

[mlane58]

The kids today don't even use it as meaning homosexual anymore. They use it to describe something stupid or unfortunate. My son who is 20, uses that way and most of the kids at his college use it the same way. So we can play semantics all day long and as mitousmom noted "however, it is unlikely that one comment will rise to the level of illegal harassment unless it is exceptionally severe and there is nothing to suggest this comment was."

 

[justalayman]

The kids today don't even use it as meaning homosexual anymore. They use it to describe something stupid or unfortunate. My son who is 20, uses that way and most of the kids at his college use it the same way. So we can play semantics all day long and as mitousmom noted "however, it is unlikely that one comment will rise to the level of illegal harassment unless it is exceptionally severe and there is nothing to suggest this comment was."

"The kids?"

I will tell you that when I say Clay Aiken is gay, my kids understand exactly what is meant. So does the wife but she doesn't think it's funny because she likes Clay Aiken.

Gay is still used to note a male homosexual. I am sure I can find you a million gay men that will attest to that. Most every word has many meanings and using gay to notate homosexual is still very common in most areas of the country. Maybe your area is just ahead of the rest of us.

Also, for the third time, I saw and mentioned the 1 time thing, twice previously. While that may not typically be the co-worker to be causing a hostile envirnment, the fact the employer threatened to fire the kid if he wanted to file a complaint. THAT is what is illegal. An employer cannot refuse to accept a complaint and then has a duty to investigate that complaint. So. if the employer had simply written the complaint, told the other workers to not call him gay anymore, he would have been able to fire him with no problems.

The fact he threatened to fire him for attempting to file a complaint and then actually fired him the next day, I believe he has a very good reason to file a complaint only now it is against the boss and the company. That actually is good because I am ure the co-worker did not have a lot of money but the manager, owner, and Jimmy Johns Inc sure do.

You failed to reference this section of MM's post:

However, your employer's option that you can file a sexual harassment complaint or ignore the unwelcome conduct if you want to keep your job violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. A covered employer is required to conduct an inquiry into an allegation of sexual harassment, not to tell the employee is he fired if he plans to file a complaint.

He also can contact the Indiana Civil Rights Office for a state level complaint.

just to support my point of "gay" inferring homosexual, here is the first several hits when typing in gay on Google:

http://www.gay.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGIH,GGIH:2007-26,GGIH:en&q=gay&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=5&ct=title
http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/talese/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTN6Du3MCgI
http://lovegodsway.org/GayBands
http://www.365gay.com/
http://www.bestgayblogs.com/
http://www.anothergaymovie.com/

Now, if you can find any of those to use the term gay as "hey use it to describe something stupid or unfortunate", I may reconsider.

Now if you don't accept that, I can start providing links to search; gay and then the images section. That will most assuredly convince you that "gay" is synonomous with homosexual.