Now that the government shutdown has finally ended and the EEOC is resuming normal operations, we’re seeing our cases moving forward again and mediations being scheduled.
Since we’re getting back to business-as-usual, I thought it might be a good time to revisit some of the basics for anyone who is going through a difficult situation at work and wondering what their options might be.
My goal here is to help you put yourself in the best possible starting position. Most people who contact us are unhappy with their environment at work, but they don’t know what to do. Most have never made a formal complaint against any employer. So, if you feel unsure or overwhelmed, you are not alone!
Every case starts with your story
The first thing we ask every new client to do is to tell us their story – what happened to them – in detail. We need the facts.
So, this means that even if you haven’t contacted a lawyer yet, or if you are simply feeling like some things at your job are not quite right, start documenting what you’re experiencing.
Quick tips for documenting and telling your story
Make it chronological. When did you start working at your employer? Who did you interview with? If you’ve been with your company for a long time and the problems you’re experiencing are recent, your early days might not be particularly relevant, but it sets the stage. If your problems are more recent, start listing dates when things happened.
Notes or bullet points are perfectly fine. Don’t stress about your writing style or grammar – the attorney is going to work with you on fine-tuning your story.
Assume your audience (the attorneys, potentially the future judge or jury) knows nothing about what you do. Explain your industry. Minimize or explain corporate jargon. Explain your day-to-day responsibilities. Explain your chain of command. Who do you report to? Do you have subordinates? Again, you’re not writing a bestselling novel. The attorney only needs the bullet points that you would have to feed into AI to get it to spit out your story anyway. If you do use AI, proofread! We are finding mistakes, or AI is filling in the story with narrative that didn’t actually happen. Errors in the narrative can snowball into miscommunications that waste a lot of time.
We need the facts! Explain what happened – not only how you feel or the outcome. It’s very common for people to communicate with conclusions. For example, “my boss is harassing me and it was very upsetting” is a conclusion and doesn’t explain what happened. Facts include: what you were experiencing, what you were told, who you complained to, and what the response was. Don’t worry about “proof.” “It felt like I was being pushed out, but I don’t feel like I can prove it…” “It’s not in writing…” “Nobody else heard it…” “I just feel like I’m being treated differently…” This one is huge. If you sense it – it’s happening. Start documenting your story. Be detailed. Use full names and dates. Explain who the people in your story are and how their job relates to yours. Supervisor? Peer? Subordinate? Same department?
Discrimination is the most common legal claim against an employer
Here’s how to make your facts stand out. Discrimination is often about being treated differently. Overt discrimination of course happens, but in the modern workplace a lot of discrimination is much more subtle and insidious. Note your protected class – age, race, gender, nationality, religion, pregnancy, disability – are all examples. Comparing how you were treated to your peers is very powerful evidence. For example, your boss simply being “unfair” to you might not be illegal. It’s much more powerful if we can describe how your coworkers are being treated in a manner more favorably than you. Having a tough, mean, unprofessional, or even outright rude and disrespectful supervisor is not alone illegal. It’s not illegal to be a jerk! This is where comparisons come in – how are your peers being treated? Do you feel like the company is favoring certain employees?
Don’t be afraid to afraid to make discrimination the focus of your story
A lot of clients want to focus their story on how they were generally mistreated, their positive performance was disregarded, they were treated unfairly, and disrespected. Sometimes people feel frustrated when the attorney keeps bringing the story back to discrimination, or they don’t want to “play the discrimination card.” Here’s the hard truth – your job being hard, or unfair, or putting impossible demands on you is not inherently illegal. We, the attorneys, focus on discrimination because it’s often the strongest legal argument for us.
Don’t forget to tell us the rest
Include in your story everything that you felt was wrong in the workplace. Many people don’t realize that they have potential whistleblower or other claims against their employer.
If need more information about this topic or would like to speak to one of our employment lawyers, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at info@capclaw.com or call (203) 255-4150.
