WHY SOME FOLKS WALK AWAY FROM THE PURSUIT OF WORKPLACE JUSTICE Lately, I got to thinking about the various folks with whom Ive interacted who, after reading my book, contacted me about their own personal workplace nightmares, and why it is that most of them are shying away from pursuing justice. Each has his/her unique set of circumstances, some situations far worse than others. However, the one thing that they do have in common is emotional pain. It is not easy going to work day after day, knowing that things are not quite right and that your job may well be hanging precariously in the balance. Worse yet, in some cases, youve just been separated from the job you loved and believed to be yours until which time you decided it was time to move on, if, in fact, that time ever came. There are a few individuals, in particular, with whom Ive interacted more extensively. Ive gotten to know each of their situations rather well and, in some cases, offered advice on how they should consider proceeding. There is one thing that is abundantly clear, a common thread that appears to be woven through each and every one of these workplace ordeals in regard to whether to pursue justice: fear. Fear of litigation, fear of lawyers, fear of the EEOC, fear of the unknown, and, most of all, fear of retaliation. Their fear is so consuming that most of these otherwise perfectly functional people seem to just freeze for a point in time after as though deer caught in the headlights of life. Frankly, I cannot say I blame them. Just imagine one day you are called into your boss’s office or approached at your desk and told you have been fired, but not just fired, fired with no plausible explanation. Of course they make one up -- I call that the equivalent of not having one at all. Next thing you know, security is escorting you out the door with the contents of your locker. Or imagine that suddenly you are diagnosed with a disease for which there is no cure. This disease does not preclude working but limits the number of hours you can put in per day. As if this is not devastating enough because you cannot afford to lose so much as an hour’s pay, no sooner does your employer catch wind of your unfortunate diagnosis, one they do not want to foot the bill for, that they don’t give up until they’ve needled you out the door. In either scenario, the end result is the same: you are jobless and desperate for a plan of attack! Not only is it frightening to be in a vulnerable position whereby you cannot pay your bills and where your home is in jeopardy of foreclosure as you scramble to figure out your next move, that is, if they havent already broken you to where you barely have the will to face another day, but you have no idea how to proceed, where to turn, who to trust. All you know is that you did right by your employer, always got good performance evaluations, accolades from higher ups, colleagues and staff, and did what was asked of you. And now here you are feeling betrayed and confused. If you think that you will find an immediate resolution, good luck with that. Often times, your demise was long in the making. You skipped around clueless as a babe each day working your touchas to the bone whilst the little evil elves were busy at work desperately trying to conjure up creative ways to get you gone without legal repercussion. Sure...there are dummies out there who do not consider this aspect of things despite the flurry of discrimination and other claims that have slammed the courts over the past 50 years. I know this because I dealt with such dummies. But I digress, as always. For the most part, unbeknownst to you, an intense game of chess has just begun -- and the next move is yours. In my book, Thrown Under The Bus: The Rise And Fall Of An American Worker, I take the reader through the whole gamut of formalities and processes one must tackle on the path to justice. Ugh...I shudder when I say justice as I know the truth about trying to actually get any. In most of these cases, lets just say that justice is but a state of mind. Because I can tell you as one who was screwed to the proverbial wall, that whatever you do get in monetary restitution, even if it is a lot of dough, more times than not, something has taken place that changes you in ways you dont expect and cant imagine. I think it is safe to say that most folks want justice when they know they have been wronged, especially when it concerns workplace harassment and all the many forms it can take. We all want the vindication that says we did nothing wrong but rather were wronged. But I am finding that most folks are scared silly to take so much as a first step. NOT because they dont want to but merely out of fear of all of the aforementioned factors that might well make anyone feel like a drunk searching for a toilet in a house of mirrors. One woman I know, Ill call Julia, talked to an attorney shortly after being bullied out of her job. This woman turned Julia off so much that she just about threw her hands up right from the get-go. From what I gather, this attorney wasnt exactly the warm fuzzy type - but there again, they never are. Just that first encounter, though, can be enough to scare anyone off and away. As I say in Thrown, most folks look up to lawyers and expect them to operate above board. But the truth is that it often takes years of dealings - a long, gut-wrenching learning curve - to find out what youre up against. By the time you’ve got it down to a science, it’s usually too late. Julia also had a horrific experience with the EEOC before she even had a chance to file a charge and might never now do so as a result of this souring. I know as well as or better than most what they are about, but sadly, one MUST file an EEOC charge to get to federal court. Its like paying a toll...an often costly one at that. I tell people not to think of the EEOC as an arbiter of justice but merely a necessary evil, a stop on the way. Expect nothing and you will not be disappointed. If you fail to take this sage advice and decide you would still like to look to these utterly useless-as-tits-on-a-bull-bureaucrats to wipe your tears, hold your hand, and serve you tea and biscuits - well - youre in for a rude awakening. Several months prior to Julia getting pushed out the door for no reason other than having been diagnosed with MS, she had decided it might be prudent to just talk to them rather than file a formal charge. She did not want her employer to know she was prospecting around for answers. Well, in all of their infinite wisdom, the EEOC went right ahead and notified Julias employer when they had no right to do so. When confronted, they lied and said they did nothing wrong. When pressed, they finally broke and admitted their mistake, but it was too late. Her employer had already ratcheted up the harassment in retaliation, and eventually forced Julia out on a disability leave she did not want to be nor could afford to live on. They told her that she was too sick too work and refused to accommodate her as per her physician’s orders. She has since fallen prey to depression and feels like there is no hope, that litigation would take too long and too much of a toll even though she has a pretty tight case. Another individual I know, Ill call Lydia, dealt with several years of harassment including a string of entirely bogus, in fact, downright ludicrous, disciplinary charges that eventually led to an ambush termination after 18 years at her job. She is by all accounts a mature, together, extraordinarily bright and dazzlingly articulate woman who devoted herself to her job. Problem is that she was, yup, working for a public sector darling (sarcasm) who couldnt have cared less about her admirable work ethic or allegiance to her employer despite the years of nonsense she was made to endure. In fact, it was just that, being a cut above the rest, which landed her in the street. Lydia is now at a crossroads as to how to proceed. On one hand she knows what happened to her is criminal, but on the other realizes that she could be in for a hellish ride if she dare attempt seek any kind of justice. Whats that you say? They fired her...so what could they possibly do to her? Oh boy, this is where I am obligated to tell you that you MUST go read my book! While you might be physically separated from the workplace, you are not necessarily separated from its wrath. THAT is something a lot of folks do not realize. B-b-but whats hers is hers. Right? No! Well, yes, technically. But just try to get it. What are you going to do? Waltz in and demand a check for your sick, PTO, holiday time or what have you? You could try. But I wouldn’t recommend it. All I can tell you is that employers – especially big governmental ones - have very sinister ways to hold you over a barrel either out of retaliation or to keep you quiet or sometimes, if you can believe it , just for fun. If you know this because you’ve seen it or read about it, you tip toe around wondering how you can possibly tolerate the pain of litigation as it is without adding the prospect of living on the corner out of a cardboard box for ever daring to try to get what is rightfully yours in the interim of getting to court. Lydia is determined to weigh her options, prospect around a bit to get a feel for how easy (or hard) it will be to pursue remedial action while hopefully moving on with her life the best she is able. But more than anything, she realizes that no matter what, the deck is stacked against her by virtue of the amount of time, and possibly money, it will require to go forward, especially if her employer holds her monies hostage. Most folks think that there is a clear cut path to justice. You are wronged, so you take the necessary steps to make things right even if that means taking your gripe all the way to federal court - or further. Sorry to have to tell you that that is but a fantasy. Generally, the road to justice is a long, arduous one with bumps and turns you cannot even imagine. Its hard to say what the worst of it all will be for any one individual. I suppose that depends upon ones perspective, intestinal fortitude, finances and on and on. But I do know that the whole process is not to be taken lightly. It is a very personal decision, one that must be carefully considered in light of the havoc it will almost certainly wreak on your daily life. Fortunately, as time pushes on and folks like me let the cat out of the bag by writing those pesky books exposing lawyers, judges, government agencies, and the courts for what they truly are, dragging them into the light of day to be seen for scoundrels that they are, more and more victims will know not to jump in blind. On the other hand, this invaluable information might also persuade a victim of workplace harassment that it is more prudent - if not gratifying in a maybe not-so-gratifying way - to walk away from justice for no other reason than to avoid the risk of having ones life turned into the circus of scary clowns it will almost inevitably become.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:34:05 +0000