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As of this week, I’m in high gear fighting discrimination in San Francisco. Particularly, I am in the midst of several discrimination cases against one of my former employers. I’ll elaborate below, and hopefully this will serve as inspiration to the masses of repressed employees who may be intimidated by taking a stand against bigotry. Discrimination is still a problem in California, even in San Francisco, and I still hear of dozens of new cases each month.
I worked for a company that was nothing more than a mini-sweatshop stuffed with sketchy bigots. I will delay disclosing the name of the company, because there is a good chance for several monetary settlements. Keeping the whole thing out of the media, including the name of the company, might be a condition of the settlement. For now, let’s call them “iBigots,” or “iPigs.” After enduring a year of snide anti-gay remarks and office homophobia, I finally resigned, planning to forget about the antics and nonsense. But retaliation set in as soon as I began filing for unemployment. The spineless boss concocted a grandiose retaliation plan designed to intimidate me from filing the complaints that I threatened him with the day I left “iBigots”.
My complaints consisted of two discrimination cases, a CAL-OSHA (job hazard) complaint, a complaint citing Senate Bill 796 (the “sue-your-boss” law), a Dept. of Labor complaint based on contractor/employee status, and a Dept. of Industrial Relations case for the thousands of dollars of overtime pay that I never received. As rash as this sounds, each complaint is highly valid, and I would not act upon these unless there was substantial cause for each case. Further, I have never found it necessary to lodge any employer-related complaints until good old “iBigots” came along. This tiny company has committed more employment law violations than the giant Cal Fed across the street!
I won’t go into detail on the type of things that this company has attempted, but every one of their lynching techniques have failed, and I have now successfully filed all of my complaints. The HRC (Human Rights Commission) of SF is handling my municipal case, and the DFEH (Department of Fair Employment and Housing) is handling my state intake. There are also some local and state associations who have risen to protect me as well, including the Civil Liberties Union and a few labor law groups in the city.
The wisdom I have to offer to the rest of the community is this: If you have been driven out of a job due to repression, fight for your rights. Yes, it does take a LOT of effort and energy, but the personal growth, the people you will meet, and the potential for monetary settlements will all make it worth your efforts. Not to mention that you will emerge a wiser, stronger person. If you know of someone who has been the victim of discrimination but lacks the motivation to fight it, help that person and give him/her plenty of support. Legislative action in California tends to protect its population from these injustices, and it is our privilege to use the recourse that we are given.
Once per week or so, I’ll give updates on these cases, including the results of any settlement. If settlements fall through, you can bet that I will immediately disclose the name of the company and everyone involved in these illegal activities.
My advice on going to the press about acts such as this should now be obvious: Don’t go public right away, but rather use all the legal recourse available to you for your particular situation. A majority of employers are now willing to settle to avoid the repercussions of expensive lawsuits, public exposure/humiliation, and a damaged corporate reputation. If your settlement includes a confidentiality / gag order, then keep everything silent and enjoy your victory. There are some business owners that will be pigheaded enough to refuse settlement. When it becomes obvious that your employer won’t settle, then go public with your cases. Most all local and state publications, newsletters, magazines, etc. will jump at the chance to expose the continuing problem of discrimination in California.
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