Is this worth pursuing ?

[deztuhnee]

I am very new to this situation and I am not sure what to do about it.
I live in Louisiana. I was employed by PetSmart as a groomer. I have been there for 4 years, been a groomer for 2 years. So I am done with my 2 year agreement contract. However, I do groom a few dogs at my home which is 15 miles away. My non compete agreement I signed clearly states I cannot groom within 5 miles. So I never saw this as a problem. However I have suffered from discrimination from my boss for years. I am a lesbian and definitely not 'out there' with my lifestyle. However she knows my lifestyle and has verbally told an employee she does not agree with it. When gay marriage was legalized, the next day I came into work she asked me if i was getting married now very sarcastically. Anyway, this is just a little bit of the things Ive had to deal with. I have emailed Human Rescources about this discrimination several times and I have all the evidence to prove it. I also have all my employees as witnessess.
Anyway, I had a facebook page dedicated to my grooming. She somehow found it, called me to her office, and said I have 24 hours to take it down because I was going against my non compete contract. I said ok. I texted her 24 hours later and said I wasn't taking it down. Never heard from her again. I texted her again and said I am not breaking any rules and Id like to see what rule I am breaking. She gets back to me a day later, calling me on the phone, tells me I am breaking a policy in the policies and procedures handbook (which has a place to sign in the back and I never signed it) that I got 4 years ago. She said she was cancelling my dogs for the next day so I could make up my mind again about what I wanted to do. I said ok. I texted her again the same day and said if I am being forced to choose between my home and my job, then she will have to fire me because I am not taking down my page. Never heard from her again. I showed up to work my next scheduled shift and she asked why I was there. I said becayse I never heard from anyone. Not even human resources. She said because I chose my home that I Resigned from my position. I told her I am not resigning i am being involuntarily fired.

Should I persue this? I am now jobless, and cannot get unemployment because of her. She has had 4 groomers quit in the last 2 months because of how horrible she is.

 

[Chyvan]

cannot get unemployment because of her.

Did you actually apply for UI or do you just think that? Too many think that fired = no ui, and that's just not true. If you applied and were denied, then appeal it.

 

[cbg]

There's nothing to pursue. Nothing illegal has transpired.

Just because she calls it a resignation doesn't mean the UI office will agree. File for unemployment.

 

[deztuhnee]

No I have not tried, I was told I would not be eligible because she put that I resigned.
I was wondering also about the discrimination point, should that be pursued or would I be wasting my time.

 

[deztuhnee]

I will file for unemployment anyway like you suggest.
I am very new to this, ive never been in this type of sittuation.
Thank you

 

[Chyvan]

I was told I would not be eligible because she put that I resigned.

Don't listen to that person anymore about UI matters. You aren't the first and you won't be the last where you say you were "fired," and the employer says you "quit."

While TX has always struck me as very employer-friendly, in the state's own guide it cautions employers about when there is no letter of resignation.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/types_of_work_separations.html

"Resignation Without Notice Top of Page



It can be difficult for a company to protect itself in a resignation case and "prove" that an employee quit, if the employee refuses to give a written notice of resignation, or else leaves under circumstances that make it unlikely that the employee will cooperate and give the company a letter of resignation after the fact. In many such cases, the ex-employee later alleges the company fired them. The most common situation involves a resigning employee quitting without notice, informing only a coworker of that fact, and leaving the employer with no resignation letter to prove it was a resignation. Invariably, the sudden resignation causes one or more coworkers to have to work extra hours. To document that the employee resigned, have the coworker write a memo to the employer explaining the call or contact with the ex-employee and why the coworker worked the extra time: "Dear [Boss], This is just to let you know that the reason I [came into work] [came to work earlier than usual] [worked past my usual end time] today was because ________ called me and said she was quitting and that I needed to cover for her. I worked from ____ to ____, a total of __ hours. I didn't want you to think that I was trying to work outside my schedule. Just let me know if you need me to continue covering for ______." Such a memo serves two purposes: 1) it explains why the coworker worked outside the schedule; and 2) more importantly, it increases the credibility of the assertion that the employee quit, in case the employee disputes that fact in an unemployment claim. Ideally, the coworker would be available later to give firsthand testimony confirming what he or she wrote in the memo. Of course, such a memo will not cover every possible resignation-without-notice situation, but it is an example of how an employer can think outside the box to give itself a little more protection in resignation cases.



In close cases, most administrative agencies such as TWC decide that the work separation was involuntary. Employers should be prepared with both documentation and witnesses to prove their cases either way in the event of a dispute over the nature of the work separation."

 

[cbg]

Texas law cuts no ice in Louisiana, where the OP is located.

I spent a few years as the person who conducted the discrimination investigations, and quite honestly I think you're going to have a stretch making it fly. If that many groomers have quit because of her, you're looking at an "equal opportunity jerk" for a supervisor, which actually hurts a discrimination claim. If she's just a nasty person that treats all her employees badly, then it's not likely to be illegal discrimination unless the only ones she treats badly all have some protected characteristic in common.

 

[Chyvan]

Texas law cuts no ice in Louisiana, where the OP is located.

The state UI systems don't operate in a vacuum. In a perfect world, all the states would have guides as good as EDD's Benefit Determination Guide, CUIAB's precedent decisions, and TX's guide that is hidden under the Employer section. When you don't have something specific to your state, work with what you you can get your hands on to learn the logic.

While the Texas write up on the topic is the best I've found, I've seen in many others that an employer can't just say a claimant quit and expect to get the claimant denied.

If you have something from LA or any state for that matter that says that the claimant has the burden to prove that they didn't quit when the employer says that they did, then share it.

At least then this claimant will know that the odds are about 50/50 of success, but the way I see it right now, the odds are much better than that.

 

[cbg]

In other words, you screwed up the state and don't want to admit it.

Where did I say that the poster can't get unemployment? I don't think she quit; I think she was fired, and I think the UI office will see it the same way. That doesn't mean I'm not going to call you on it when you post the wrong state.

 

[deztuhnee]

Yes my employer tried getting me to write a letter of resignation and I told her I would not because I am being fired. I am not quitting.
She does treat everyone badly but everyone in the store is in agreement that she treats me 100% worse because of my lifestyle.
I am not fluent on these types of matters at all, however I put a binder together of all the emails I wrote HR in the beginning saying I felt I Was being discriminated against and they never did anything about it. Now I feel like she found a way to get me out, even though I am the lead groomer there who makes the most.
Thanks for all your help.

 

[commentator]

First, file a claim for unemployment insurance. Forget all about complaining about the discrimination to them. That's not the venue where you'd do anything about the complaints related to EEOC issues. Tell the unemployment system exactly what you were told on the last day, exactly what you said, make it very clear that you did NOT quit the job.

Then, after that claim is filed and in the process, you might want to speak to an employment attorney about a possible discrimination suit based on your sexual orientation. Or you might file a claim directly with the EEOC. In either case, it will take a very long time for any resolution, if there is one. Unemployment insurance is the immediate and most compelling thing you need to do right now while looking very hard for another job.

But what cbg says is very valid. If this supervisor is an equal opportunity butthead who treats EVERYONE terrible on the job, is known for that, and fires people right and left (or persuades them to quit, which is really her ambition in this matter) then it will be very difficult to show compelling evidence that she mistreated you and fired you ONLY because of your being a lesbian and that there is evidence of a pattern of discrimination against lesbians.

She just used that as a way to harass you, where if you had been a heavy person, she might have harassed you for that reason, or a red head, she might have harassed you for that reason. Particularly notice what you said at the very end of the last post about firing you even though you were the highest paid person, the lead groomer who makes the most. Ta da. That means she can hire somebody now who isn't the highest paid person on the job, thus paying them less, and cutting her labor costs. That's not discrimination based on sexual orientation, its perfectly legal discrimination(except that you might be approved for unemployment, which the company hates.)

Incidentally, this large company, if I am not mistaken, like many others, uses a private contractor to deal with all unemployment claims, and your claim will be opposed and appealed if you are approved initially and carried through by the contractor, they won't be dealing directly with the people who work in your particular store.

 

[deztuhnee]

Thank you commentator.
I filed for unemployment last night.
I see that to be eligible and receive the benefits, you have to actively apply for at least 3 jobs in a week.
I am in the process of setting up my own grooming business in my home and I cannot do that yet because of lack of funds since I lost my job.
So how would this work with getting unemployment?

And my employer has barely fired anyone however we have lost a lot of people because of how ridiculous she is.
Though everyone agrees she is way harder on me. I was paid by commission, so I made her the most money also.

I wanted to talk to an attorney to see if it was worth it to say I was wrongfully terminated because she discriminated against me. I feel like she finally had the opportunity to get rid of me, so she did..however it was not justified. The contract she said I went against, I read it 1000 times and I did not do anything to justify getting fired over.
So would I have a good eough case or would I just be wasting my time?

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[cbg]

I think you will feel much better if you talk to an attorney, either way. I think you're going to have a hard time proving illegal discrimination based on your post; however, I also think you are not going to have any kind of peace of mind unless you take this as far as you can, which means at least talking to an attorney. It's always possible you've left things out of the post that would make a difference to my opinion; if you talk to an attorney and he agrees with me you don't have to go any further.

 

[winorlose1]

I think you will feel much better if you talk to an attorney, either way. I think you're going to have a hard time proving illegal discrimination based on your post; however, I also think you are not going to have any kind of peace of mind unless you take this as far as you can, which means at least talking to an attorney. It's always possible you've left things out of the post that would make a difference to my opinion; if you talk to an attorney and he agrees with me you don't have to go any further.

As others have said, first thing to do is to file unemployment. Many (if not most) states do not pay retroactively so every day you go without filing is lost money.

I'm not going to tell you how to proceed, but if I were you, I would proceed with filing under the premise that you were told you had to resign with no reason so, essentially, you were fired, with no reason given.

In the future, it is best to refrain from engaging in argumentative or otherwise negative conversation via traceable means such as texting with an employer. NEVER leave a trail of things like that, it could bite you in the ass later. If a boss of yours ever texts you or calls you on your personal phone with derogatory or negative things to say, you do not respond. You report it to HR immediately.

Treat situations like that just as you should take it when dealing with police. Exercise the fifth amendment.