SHOULD I RESIGN OR GET FIRED AND THEN SUE WALMART???????

[mickie88]

ok, i will try and include everything i can in this as much as possible with one hand...lol.

but this is serious so anybody who deals with the law is extremely welcome to answer on behalf of me and/or walmart.

over the past 9 months most of you know my wife has been pregnant, and there were days i missed work due to her inability to take care of the kids by herself, i have papers for some of these days, but not all of them.

i told my service manager and my support manager(female at the time, she quit and they hired a guy to replace her) THREE weeks in advance that i would be available to work during the week beginning nov. 3, 2008. she then told her boss, cause my wife was going on maternity leave.

they could not for the life of them figure out how to give me hours once the support manager left until Thanksgiving, FIVE weeks after they had been informed both verbally and in writing. since this was the case, my wife had TWO weeks of maternity and went back to work, putting her health at risk. i needed to pay rent so i asked them for a cash advance, and when i did before i made sure i didn't miss work no matter the cost to my family, somebody could have died and i would have stayed because i "owed" them my services.

on 10/25/2008, i was involved in a car accident that totaled my car twice over, and when we called the insurance adjuster he still wasn't done getting prices to fix it. if my ankle hadn't hurt, you know what? i would have went to work, but my two kids were also in the car with me, and i knew Brittiney wasn't going to let me go even if we did need the money. i do have papers for this incident. i was cited for failure to yield even though my 6 year old daughter who was paying attention the same direction i was and saw NO car coming when i went. but seriously what Ohio judge will listen to a 6-year-old?

on 10/31/2008, a week later, we had taken the kids trick or treating, this was thursday, so i was off. and was off this friday morning she continued into labor and finally gave birth to our final son. she tested positive for group b strep and Kaileb had jaundice, and his blood sugar or iron were low when he was born. the cord was also around his neck but it wasn't cutting off air. the doctor wanted to keep them both over night to make sure they were alright once given antibiotics. the pediatrician wanted to keep Kaileb a second night i think because of his jaundice or something, but the OB said she could go home. seriously how many loving mothers leave their sick newborn child alone in the hands of doctors?

we only had one car at the time, it barely stays running cause it needs oxygen sensors, and it was the only car in the family big enough for two car seats, a third child, and two adults. they didn't release our son until about 2 pm on sunday, we close at 5 and i was an hour away, by the time i would have been able to go in, i would have had to turn around and come home. 
of course i have papers for these days too.

this past saturday, i had to take Brittiney to the ER, because Kaileb developed thrush and since she is breastfeeding, she developed it very badly too with open sores and extremely painful burning inside her breasts. the medicine she had been given wasn't working. they sent us up to the big hospital which was in another city to see the lactation consultant, we spoke with her for about 30-45 minutes, once again i was an hour away and when i went in sunday found i had only been scheduled till 630 anyway. my shift would have been over on saturday anyway by the time i got there. i have papers for this as well.

there were other days in between that i "missed" because of the miscommunication for my scheduling. i talked to the manager about the days i was scheduled during the week and she said they would not be counted against me but i kinda believe otherwise.

we had a guy only 64 die in my personal walmart store sunday cause no one knew cpr. before this i had noticed my name was completely missing from the schedule(not entirely bad since they won't change it without a court order anyway.) so i went to talk to my boss, before i went to lunch, she said i had to be available 16 hours to be on the schedule. i was, but my service manager said that if my availability was open earlier than i could come all she saw was what was on the computer and put in a schedule. my wife works at a bank and on saturday it's rare she doesn't work 815-1215, so since i have no one to watch the kids until she is off, i am not available to work until 1230. when my wife came back from leave two banks in two different cities fought over where she was going for this month, our hometown won, but i don't know what they are going to do for next month where she was hired in at is so overstaffed its not funny, it really sickens me the way people manage som places.

anyway, my wife received a text message last night from a former employee i use to work with, stating that someone who is a reliable source, told another associate who told him that i was next on the list to be fired.

Brittiney believes its more because of my gender identity thing than my attendance. she told me this morning that the 80 year old man still gets phone calls from customers asking if i'm there and refuse to come in cause i know damn well he tells them " yes or no he is isn't here" which by company policy he is NOT allowed to do. but i know he does it anyway and no one says anything to him cause he's old. but i'm not sure how to prove it other than the fact they refused to change even paperwork just in the store that had my name on it, said the whole computer program was fixed so they couldn't do that, nor without a court order. or the customers are calling and complaining to the new store manager that "that pervert is still out there and want, him/it fired." these people are rude and nasty, but at least Britt knows they don't understand. i know the store manager doesn't since he's from Texas and their law states you can be fired for being gay.

the assistant manager i think may be being forced to fire me knowing there really is no one to replace me, the auto techs make less than i do now.

when i went in sunday i also noticed a little shed in the shop, so i asked what it was for. boss man said it was for us service writers to stand in outside and write up cars during the year especially since we didn't have any protection. the shed wood is paper thin and has 2 windows. the paper on the roof isn't glued down right, the shingles aren't secure, and they want to put in the parking lot of hundreds of oncoming semis. if there is no lock put on it we all kknow those truck drivers are going to use at as an outhouse at least the male ones will cause from the outside that's exactly what it looks like. the service manager asked his boss' boss' boss' what the doghouse was for, he told him it wasn't a doghouse and to have it insulated and painted he would be down by the end of the week. people have sheds bigger than this thing and it will blow away with the winter winds we get up here, they said it cost walmart 3000, i think somebody made a 2500 profit, if not the full 3000. it gets to be 20 below up here in ohio, and with 3 kids and in my right mind i won't stand in it for 8 hours in that kind of weather, and Brittiney won't let me. geez the thing isn't even tall enough for the 80 year ols man to fit in.


with all this information, please tell me what you think i should do?

resign with dignity and be glad i'm rid of the hellhole, or stay around and see if i get fired and then sue them for wrongful termination?

thanks for your input, feel free to ask questions, if needed

[Suzy]

Wow, this is really a fine mess, Ollie.

It is obvious how unhappy you have been there.  The fist thing I would do is to start very actively looking for another job.  If you can find another one ASAP, this will all be moot.  I know it really sucks to be fired.  But if it were up to me (and it isn't) I would make them fire you.  At least they would have to pay unemployment that way.  If you quit, you get no benefits at all.

FWIW, I have gone up against that company before on behalf of some others who were wrongly treated.  My advice:  Get out of there ASAP.  If you do sue, what will you realistically get in return?  Your job back?  No thanks!

I wish you the very best.



Kristi

[Eva Marie]

Force them to fire you; at least you'll be eligible for unemployment while you look for your next job.

My understanding of walmart is that they are a terrible employer who looks for any reason to fire people. It sucks that you've had so many family situations come up; but family does comes first. Walmart will either get over it or let you go. I doubt that there is much you can do one way or the other about it. I doubt it would be worth getting into a legal battle with walmart, they have unlimited resources, big lawyers, and have been down this road before.

[mickie88]

there is no ohio enda, never was but they are working on it for public employees but STATE employees have it till the governor leaves office, which is still legal discrimination.

no my name is not legally changed, i wanted to do it last year but we needed a second car so i used tax money for that instead putting that off. they only refuse because the store system is supposedly tied in with the payroll system. i have cashed money orders and checks with Mickie on them before, the banks have had no issues with it. my check is direct deposited into my wifes account, my name is nowhere on it and i refuse to put it on anything legal like that until its changed.

in ohio you have to take your fmla all at ONCE or you don't get it, or so i have been told by some, i was probably told wrong. my attitude towards my bosses have remained as respectful and as courteous as possible under all the stress i've been through recently. the boss over my department talks to us like we are fifth graders, and i try to talk to her like an adult, which is very hard sometimes.

and i could see my gid being disruptive if i was constantly running my mouth about it, but these people are calling back to my department and asking other associates if i'm there, all the service writers know i only get calls from Brittiney when i am there on the weekends, even management knows, so i try to limit my time on the phone as much as possible, because i realize i am there to work and not talk on the phone, there are many times i've hung up on her so i could do my job, but apologized for it later.

and i have been looking for the past few months but most everything i want to do she would have to quit and i don't want to force her to do that. 

[tekla]

We can start with the harsh and I'll see if I can find something positive by the end.

The one thing, the ONE THING, that just leaped out at me in all of that, was this.
the auto techs make less than i do now.
Hell, I'd try to fire you too.  That's just the way business, not just WallMart, and not just in Ohio, but most business, in most places work here in 2008.  I've seen entire departments given marching papers on Friday only to have a bunch of new people - lower paid - walk in on Monday.  It's all just the bottom line.  Nothing personal.  Just business. 

But, bottom line being what it is, if I were the person in a position to fire you and replace you with a lower paid person, I'd bend over backwards (and I think they have in a way) not to fire you, but to get you to quit.  You quit and there is no unemployment, and since they pay for unemployment (quite a bit too) you always want to try to make people quit, rather than have to fire them.  (Hence the shed/outhouse).

When I taught I had a very simple make-up policy, you could take a makeup test of any test, hell, all the tests, but the only time you could take that test, or those tests, was immeaditally after the final.  Which sucks.  So it was rare.  I did that because I really ran out of patience for all the excuses, and that I was supposed to somehow, rule on them, which sucked for me.

In the same way, it sucks - as a boss/manager/crew chief/whatever - when your staff, already as lean as it can be, turns up short.  It hurts.  All the reasons are valid, but none of the reasons are business, and its only the business I'm really worried about at that time. And that's a lot of not being there for you in that story.  Its almost a weekly occurance, and that would sure give me pause to start to think that 20% of the time I booked you to work you would not be there.

And, missing excessive amounts of work is a valid ground for termination.  I'm sure there is even a policy about it, I'm sure WM is crazy about policies.  You should make sure that you still qualify for unemployment if those are the grounds.  You may not, it could be considered a valid reason.  Those laws vary from state to state.  But, I do know from watching other people do it, that an unemployment claim lawsuit is a long, drawn out affair, that the other side will keep extending as long as possible in the hopes that you just tire of it and go away.  But think years perhaps, not months.

As for standing outside in Ohio in the winter, that's just part of the job, hard to get around it.  If you can't do that, then you need a different job.  But lots of people work in some pretty harsh weather conditions, you're not alone in that.

[mickie88]

the auto techs make less than i do now.

lol, the techs don't want me fired, i only know they make less than i do because the service manager told me they do. we use to have experience pay, they did away with that..lol.

you miss my point that the customers want me fired, some of the new techs don't even know i transitioned.

and seriously do you all think an 80 year old male or female is going to stand outside in freezing weather? if they put an ACTUAL heater in it instead of probably insulating it with asbestos(its ohio, i'm sure SOMEONE has it), it wouldn't be so bad. but this is walmart and we ALL know they do everything they can as cheap as possible.

the weather also wouldn't be so bad if i wasn't CONSTANTLY WORRIED OF WEATHER OR NOT I WAS GOING TO BE RUN OVER BY AN 18 WHEELER IN THE PARKING LOT AND NOT KNOW HOW MUCH TIME I HAVE TO SAVE MYSELF. truckers around here read no parking signs like they are blank.

not to mention if they don't lock it real good, like bring it inside every night, they will break the lock, and use it to smoke, drink, pee and eat like its their own personal space. maybe once that happens they'll realize their stupidity.

[tekla]

Well, far be it from me to defend WM, they are anti union, and I don't shop there, but EVERYone, even big lavish, they invented the concept of 'party-like-a-rock-star, concerts are being cut way back, and its only the beginning.  We've been working very hard to cut costs that we never worried about before.  People are touring with less gear, which requires less crew, and on and on.

And no, I don't think they are going to find some 80 year old, but some out of work auto worker ain't going to be hard to find in Ohio these days.

[sd]

One other thing to keep in mind... Walmart has a lot of lawyers who will keep you tied up in court for a very long time. I am not saying it would not be impossible to win but what would you get? Would it be worth it.

I say move on as soon as you can.

[mickie88]

And no, I don't think they are going to find some 80 year old, but some out of work auto worker ain't going to be hard to find in Ohio these days.

they don't have to find one, he already works in this department with me.

and my service manager said that were lawyers that i could hire for free just to sue walmart cause they settle out of court so often.

around here i know if i do find something she's going to have to quit, because either the places i will apply won't be open on sunday and aren't flexible enough to work around her schedule, if i work third shift neither one of us gets any sleep and both of us driving that isn't safe. neither one of us have anyone to drive us to and from work. and baby sitters around here rarely take newborn/infants, daycares won't even take them until they are at LEAST 6 months old. not to mention they are extremely expensive even for part time care anymore.


and yes walmart is EXTREMELY about policies, that is why i've done everything to avoid using the "gendered" bathrooms, there's just no way i'm using the mens room and confusing 3/4 of the store. most of them now except me as a woman, and the newer associates know nothing else.

another policy we use to be able to put 4 tires on a vehicle that had two or more different sizes, if they bought 4 of the same size tires for that vehicle, i was told recently we were no longer allowed to do that. i don't if its just that store or every walmart, but you can't really sell people tires, if you refuse to sell them to your customers, right?

[Mister]

does a company have to respect that your name and gender be changed in their files when it hasn't been changed legally?  Absolutely not.  The paychecks they cut have to have the same name as the person in their files.  Writing a check to whatever your name is now instead of whatever it used to be constitutes fraud.

You missed a lot of work.  A LOT of work.  If you were my employee, I'd have scaled your hours way back by now, if not eliminated them altogether in favor of someone who was more dependable.

nearly every post i read of yours has you griping and complaining about walmart.  You don't like it?  Leave. 

[mickie88]

does a company have to respect that your name and gender be changed in their files when it hasn't been changed legally?  Absolutely not.  The paychecks they cut have to have the same name as the person in their files.  Writing a check to whatever your name is now instead of whatever it used to be constitutes fraud.

You missed a lot of work.  A LOT of work.  If you were my employee, I'd have scaled your hours way back by now, if not eliminated them altogether in favor of someone who was more dependable.

very true Tasha, very true, we need to move.

nearly every post i read of yours has you griping and complaining about walmart.  You don't like it?  Leave.

like i've stated before its NOT about the check, i could care less ITS DIRECT DEPOSITED. i care about computer screens and other paperwork that does not necessarily need my name-legal or otherwise- on it period.

i ONLY WORK  the weekends and if you had read my ENTIRE initial post in this thread you would have seen THEY HAVE ELIMINATED MY HOURS DUE TO MY AVAILABILITY NOT BECAUSE OF MY ATTENDANCE. i use to work during the week almost every day, but the boss who does my schedule now schedules what SHE or CORPORATE wants, i do not always have time to be trying to find somebody to switch hours with cause a place that is suppose to be flexible isn't being very flexible. they are supposed to schedule you by the hours you are available, i didn't have these problems when my female support manager was there but they forced her to quit to. SHE WOULD HAVE MADE SURE NOT JUST ME, BUT EVERYBODY HAD HOURS!!!! now that she's gone they can't figure out how to do that and thats somehow my fault? i put in for her job when she left but they passed over me, my availability would have been opened up during the week to fill it up, but they wanted another male manager to stick out in the shop, he's suppose to help out on the department floor too but i seriously doubt he does.

it's not that i don't like wal-mart, is that i don't like some of the stupid sometimes insanely idiotic concepts they come up with. i get along with most everybody in the store.

and fyi, my wife told me to start this thread and ask for all your opinions and advice, sorry if i've irked some of you the wrong way. i'm seriously trying to go about this the right way and do it with dignity and some kind of respect for myself as well.

[NicholeW.]

Actually. all they pretty much have to do is just tell you to go. They don't needa reason. At-will employment is very similar to a month-to-month lease.

[Janet_Girl]

I having been in jobs that I hated, I know it is tough to stick it out, but I would.  Then if they let you go you can get unemployment.  Get fired and you get nothing, unless you appeal.

Dress warmly and huddle in the 'doghouse'.

Janet

[Pariah]

Simple....if you DON'T plan on being in the hell that is Wal-Mart, and don't plan to take legal action, let them (or force them) to fire you. The unemployment is better than "nothing coming."

I jsut hope you have good (and stable) prospects lined up so you can jump on in...

[Ms Jessica]

Getting fired isn't such a great option.  On every job application you fill out, you have to answer the question "Have you ever been fired?"  It's not an automatic deal-breaker, from what I understand, but between two prospective employees, and all other things being equal, you'd go for the person that hadn't ever been fired.  You could lie about it, but if they call up Walmart or whatever, they'll get the truth, and places will fire you for lying on a job app. 

wrt to suing walmart-- others have said it as well or better-- it's a losing battle.  Free lawyer or not, you don't have ENDA protection-- they're not doing it to you because you're a woman, they might be doing it to you because you're trans.  Or they might just be doing it because you've missed a lot of work. 

But let's assume it's discrimination, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt.  The burden of proof here is yours.  You have to be able to prove to someone that you're being discriminated against.  Suspicion, or something like having your hours cut back is not exactly hard and solid proof.  The fact that you don't have a legal name change, which probably also means you don't have a legal gender change (i.e. a birth cert that says "F" instead of "M") means that they call you by the name and sex that you're listed in the payroll system.  The fact that you have transitioned probably doesn't matter much from a legal perspective.  You don't have the legal docs to get your name changed. 

The point is, this isn't an equivocal demonstration of discrimination.  If you had a legal, court-ordered name change, brought it in there, and they insisted on calling you "he" and using your male name, then you've got something solid. 

Until you get there, I think taking them to court is a losing battle-- they'll tie you up for years, and what will you get if you win?  Monetary damages?  For what?  They might be forced to offer you your job back, but is that something you'd really want? 

The most important question to ask at this point is "what's the point of taking them to court?"  It will take a LONG time to settle, if they ever do.  Even with a free lawyer, think of how much of your own time gets tied up in the mess.  People think that settling out of court takes a few weeks.  My brother had a workmans comp suit against Home Depot-- got hurt on the job, not his fault.  Home Depot knew it, but it still took him years to get a settlement on the insurance.  YEARS!!!!  Too, you don't necessarily get money for emotional distress or whatever.  That happens on TV, but my understanding is that it doesn't happen much in real life.  You could end up spending years of your life in a suit against WalMart and get nothing except an offer for your old job back. 

If you did get fired, you might want to consult a lawyer just to see what they say.  It's possible that I'm entirely wrong about everything, as I'm not a lawyer, and my familiarity with the legal system is the legal system in California.  Your actual results could be widely different than what I'd expect. 

[Janet_Girl]

Lying on an application is never good, but the only thing Walmart can say is that you worked there and from this date to this date.  Nothing more.  It is against Federal Law to say anymore.  They are not even suppose to say whether or not you're rehireable.

[Ms Jessica]

Lying on an application is never good, but the only thing Walmart can say is that you worked there and from this date to this date.  Nothing more.  It is against Federal Law to say anymore.  They are not even suppose to say whether or not you're rehireable.

I've been led to understand the same thing, but I also know that strict adherence to that law isn't practiced by all employers.  If there's a huge expose on Dateline tomorrow night about all the labor laws Walmart's breaking, color me surprised. 

IME, referral to a corporate office is better than the store at which one works.  The HR people are used to dealing with such requests and know exactly what they're allowed to say.

Still, I sticky by what I said before-- getting fired isn't a great option.  Start looking now for something flexible, etc.  Maybe like Costco or something.  Find a new job, and dump walmart.   

 

[Janet_Girl]

You might want to try your local Lowe's.  They are trans-friendly.  I should know I work for them and I started transition there.

Janet

[lisagurl]

Wally World is just a big box slave owner. All they care about is that they make money and the hell with humans. They drive manufacturers wages down and reduce benefits all to put local ma and pop stores out of business. They convince local governments to use emanate domain to throw long time residents out of their homes so they can build on prime propriety. The use slave labor in China and around the world to make junk that breaks in a few months and pollutes. They have no ethics or morals and fight any attempt to unionize.

The best people can do to control them is not buy from them.

[glendagladwitch]

If they fired you and said it was for transitioning, then you'd have a very good case under Title VII.  But if they fire you and give some kind of bogus reason, then you have to be able to show that the reason they gave is a pretext.  It's hard to do.  Do you have any impartial witnesses to stuff?