Giving up civil rights to regain employment?

[nvJob]

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

Hello,

I was terminated over an aledged work procedure. Im union. We are going to arbitration over the matter. Also I have an EEOC claim at the same time of disability,age discrimination against this employer. The two are seperate cases. The state of Ohio determined I was terminated without just cause and I recieved unemployment benefits.

The company has made an offer to bring me back to work if I stop my pursuit with the EEOC against them. Instead of going to an arbitration hearing, the union has accepted that offer in my behalf. If I accept it then I give up my claim with the EEOC (which has nothing to do with my termination issue) and Im put right back into the situation of discrimination I left and they give no account for it and nothing is done about those working conditions etc.

If I decline the offer, the union tells me then Im on my own with no job. So it all boils down to my EEOC claim which is a seperate matter from my termination case.

My question is does the union have a right to use my EEOC case as a negotiation tool for the unrelated issues of my termination? How does that even get pulled into the union case? As it stands I have to give up my right to pursue discrimination to get my job back which has nothing to do with it.

Shouldnt the case be solely on the grounds of why they terminated me and wether it was right or wrong based on the facts and issues related to that?

Thanks

 

[swalsh411]

Shouldnt the case be solely on the grounds of why they terminated me and wether it was right or wrong based on the facts and issues related to that?

Thanks

What makes you think you have a "case" against the company for why they terminated you? You said yourself it was unrelated to your EEOC claim.

 

[nvJob]

There are several reasons, but to name a few, the state of Ohio, after reviewing the evidence made the determination I was terminated without just cause. The union says they failed to use fair barganing practices. I have no prior incidents or warnings of the event they used to terminate me in over 15 years. It is not a violation that requires immediate termination. Multiple people prior to the event recieved far less discipline if any for the same thing. Management and supervision do the very same thing on a regular basis when it benefits them. And the list goes on.

Basically they just wanted to get rid of an older slightly disabled worker now that they are wanting to cut back on man power. When I say they are unrelated I mean they used the event as a pretext to get rid of me.

My discrimination case is based on the fact that though I made several requests for reasonable accomodations (as defined by the EEOC) and they made no attempt to help me with them, which ultimately lead to my performance issues "in their eyes," which lead to them wanting to get rid of me, which lead to them using my incident as that opportunity.

The two cases are seperate in that my termination is unjust based on contratual policies in and of itself while the EEOC is based on not providing me with reasonable accomodation etc.

 

[racer72]

It is perfectly legal for your former employer to negotiate your return to employment, even if the event are unrelated.

 

[Zigner]

...the state of Ohio, after reviewing the evidence made the determination I was terminated without just cause...

I think you are confused on exactly what the finding was. You were not terminated "for cause" - but that doesn't mean it was an illegal act by the employer.