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workplace bias

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D

deonlydiva

Junior Member
undefinedWhat is the name of your state? Arkansas.
I work for a large company, but my department has only 6 employees, and construction was being done on the building(a new conference room which required knocking down walls, etc), and since then fiberglass has been seeping down and irritating me crazy!! I've told my supervisor, he had the department of labor come but the only thing he tested for was mold spores, even though i constantly was telling him it wasn't mold but shaken lose fiberglass or something which had my face burning, itching and was all in my clothes. I now wear hats everyday, winter, spring summer fall. It is very, very irritating. So far i've been told to either take unpaid leave or go see a shrink. I've had everything happen to me, from taking away my office and giving it to someone else (who happened to be of a different color than me)to having my brand new furniture taken away and given to the same person. I could go on and on.
I need a next step, I've become desperate for solutions, my sinus and scalp and my eyes and ears i don't think can take any more!!
 


cbg

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The DOL has nothing to do with this. Are you sure it wasn't OSHA he called?

What does your doctor say about this? And how does workplace bias come in?
 
D

deonlydiva

Junior Member
Osha

I'm sorry it was OSHA. Bias comes into play whenever I would try to take a day off, it would be a big fuss about whos going to answer the telephone. And what right did they have in taking my office and my furniture away? There are three different departments in this building, working for one company my department has 3 employees, and the other two departments have 2 each.
My office was taken away from me twice and given to a secretary from another department and i was moved up front as if we had switched supervisors and i was working for another department, She was moved in my office because"to many germs", and they didn't think i needed an office so they moved me up front in stead and gave everything i had to her. I was not involved in decisions made concerning remodling even though everyone else was. I was constantly being ignored or looked over, concerning moving me from one area to the next.
I don't know if that is bias or not but i do know when someone is treating me different. And whenever i said anything about the problems i was having with falling debri or fiberglass, i was laughed at. So this situation here doesn't feel right, wether it's bias or discrimination.
 
cbg

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Maybe it's just because I'm not there, but I'm still having a hard time seeing how you are connecting the issue with your allergy to whatever it is with the other treatment.

As an FYI, it doesn't matter whether you call it bias, harassment, discrimination, or something else; it is only illegal if they are doing it BECAUSE OF your race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, pregnancy or because you are over 40.

It is NOT illegal to move you because you are going to another department.

It is NOT illegal to move you because they do not believe your position warrants an office.

It is NOT required that they include you in making the decisions.

I ask again; what does your doctor say about the allergy?
 
D

deonlydiva

Junior Member
Bias

I understand what you are saying but, Since I'm the only black in this office, and since I am the only one being left out of meetings etc. and I was not moving to another department, I still work for the same guy I was moved to a different location, And I am the only one who have had my things taken away, no one else. I am the only one who gets the cold shoulder if I want to take the day off. There are 2 empty office room available but i'm not deserving of one and i have the same title as the lady who has all my things. And the Doctor said that i didn't have any allergies, but my upper nasal, ears are being irritated. And even if i am the only one being irritated, constantly everyday by these falling,fibers then having someone belittle and laugh at you and do nothing is wrong.If it is NOT illegal to move me because they do not believe my position warrants an office. I am the being singled out because the lady who has my office has the same position that i do, not only that they built her a bigger office.

And I understand it may NOT be required that they include me in making the decisions. but if I am the only who is excluded in these meetings.
 
cbg

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Okay, NOW we're getting somewhere. With all due respect, how do you expect anyone to answer your question when you don't provide any facts?

There are a couple of possible answers based on the information in your post, and I do not have ANY way of telling which the correct one.

IF you are being singled out because of your race, that is, of course, illegal. However, just because you are the only black does not, in itself, prove that you are being singled out for this reason.

If you are being singled out because they are annoyed at your complaints about the fiberglass or whatever it is, that is likely legal.

If this is part of a reorganization and you eventually will get your office and your furniture back, this is likely legal.

We also haven't even addressed the question of whether or not you and the other employee are "similarly situated". Just because you have the same job title and/or same job duties does not mean they are required to treat you exactly equally. For example, if she has been with the company for much longer than you; has more experience than you (even at another company); or has more education than you, it is legal to treat her differently than you. It is even legal (though I won't say it's fair) for her to be treated differently than you because her husband is the boss's golf buddy.

Basically, to have any kind of case you need some kind of evidence that all this is happening BECAUSE OF your race.

The fiberglass issue is entirely separate.
 
K

Katy W.

Member
The federal OSHA enforces the occupational safety and health laws for Arkansas private employers. Here is a link:
http://www.arkansas.gov/labor/faqs/index.htm
There is a contact number at the bottom. You may want to write a letter and copy it to a couple different OSHA administrators if they have been blowing you off. CBG asked what your doctor says about the physical problems and you didn’t answer. Have you seen a doctor?

Arkansas does not have an anti- retaliation law specifically for OSHA complaints, but they do have an anti-retaliation clause that says no one can take adverse action because someone has filed a complaint about a violation of public policy.

What does the company say about why they took your office away, give you a hard time about days off, etc? Can you show that these reasons are pretextual (phony)? Can you show that you and the other employees are equal in seniority, skill, experience, etc. as CBG asked you? Get documentation on everything you can.

After you gather this documentation, and keeping in mind that it is not illegal for your employer to discriminate against you because the other employees play golf with your boss’s dad or whatever, if you still feel that you are being singled out because of your race and this is ongoing, you may need to contact the EEOC. This does not mean you have a lawsuit, and it does not mean your employer has acted illegally. It only means that if there is no other reasonable explanation for the actions taken against you, it may warrant the EEOC’s investigation. You don’t actually have to prove that discrimination exists to ask them to look into this, but, as CBG said, you need some kind of evidence.
The goal is not to take anyone to court, it is to stop any discrimination that is occurring so that you can do your job.

It does seem to me that you have tried in good faith to remedy some of these problems with no positive result. I sincerely hope that your suspicions are not right about your race being the cause of this trouble, because discrimination charges are not fun.


(I am now going to head for cover.)
 
H

HomeGuru

Senior Member
cbg said:
Okay, NOW we're getting somewhere. With all due respect, how do you expect anyone to answer your question when you don't provide any facts?

**A: cbg, can I quote you in the future as many times as needed?
Click to expand...
 
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