Bullying is Legal: A Survivor's Story by Dominic Richardson - HTML preview

MAY 11TH, 2010

I filed an 8-page handwritten harassment claim to Samantha Mack in HR (as mentioned in paragraph number 2 of this document) and was discharged in retaliation on May 12th before 3:00pm. On May 11th, 2010, between 10:45am and 11:07am Kris Goings, Daisy Pry, and Lynn Mora were calling a physically disabled (recently promoted) employee named Kandace “gimpy” and “lop-sided”. Kris Goings mimicked Kandace’s walk and ridiculed about the abnormal shape of her legs and feet, and the way Kandace’s shoes would appear to be “tilted” as she would walk. Kris Goings’s harassment was the most malicious verbal and physical characterization I had ever seen, and it happened four to five feet away from my cubicle. I responded “You will all die and go to hell!” I took three or four steps toward the water fountain and then Kris Goings went over to Kandance and tried to “complement” her on her shoes. After I grabbed a quick drink of water, I returned to my cubicle and started processing. Mike Lee arrived at my cubicle seven minutes later and told me to go to conference room number 3. In the conference room, Mike Lee, in the presence of Lindsey Patrick (Lead Data Entry Technician) claimed that an employee “made allegations of improper work behavior on your part” and prompted me to “explain the situation.” I reported to Mike Lee what Kris Goings had done in the presence of Laura Mora and Daisy Pry. I told Mike Lee that Kandace herself was about eight feet away from them as they ridiculed. I reported to Mike Lee that this hostile behavior “happens every day.” He told me to write the allegations toward Kris Goings and others down on paper to be submitted to Human Resources. I told him that I would submit a “formal handwritten complaint to human resources, and it’s going to take me a while to write it.” Mike Lee gave me a notebook and a pen and said that I could write the claim in conference room 3. Mike Lee tried to disrupt me when I was writing. He offered to give me “the rest of the day off with pay” in order to tempt me to write as little as possible in my claim. As I was writing the harassment claim in conference room 3, Mike Lee entered the room with Samantha Mack (Human Resources Generalist). Samantha Mack encouraged me to submit the document as soon as possible so that she could conduct an investigation. I told her that it would take a while to complete the statement, and she told me to turn it in before I left for the day. I gave the document to Michelle Finn (Human Resources Assistant) after 3:00pm, and she stated that she would give the document to Samantha Mack when she returned to the office.

MAY 12TH, 2010

Mike Lee ordered that April Simpson (Lead Data Entry Technician) and I switch cubicle spaces. Mike Lee told me “I want to put you in the more safe and secure work environment that you outlined in your HR claim.” I started moving my stuff to the new cubicle around 8:00am. After I had moved everything, I decided to take a break in which I sat in my car and cried. I was clutching my left pectoral muscle and was breathing heavily. After I cried for about 30 minutes, I went to my new cubicle and started processing prescriptions. Mike Lee went to Scott Smiley’s cubicle and Scott put a hand on his chest and stated “It hurts! Oh, God it hurts!” They laughed. I was disoriented and had no desire for food. I did not take a lunch break. At 2:00pm Scott Smiley brought me to Samantha Mack’s office and she asked me to sign a document stating that all the information in my harassment claim was true, and that I could be punished for submitting false information. Before I signed the document I asked Samantha Mack (in the presence of Scott Smiley) a series of questions about the harassment investigation she and I discussed on May 11th. I asked her what if the parties involved would simply deny the allegations that I had written in the statement and she assured me that a full investigation would take place to determine who is telling the truth. I asked her for how long this investigation would take place and she replied that it would take at least a few weeks or months, depending on how much work Human Resources has at the particular time. After I received a verbal commitment (in the presence of Scott Smiley) that she would conduct a full-scale investigation to the best of her abilities, and after I explained that there are more instances that needed to be investigated in addition to the 8-page harassment claim, and that I would be accessible and cooperative throughout the investigation, I signed the document. I returned to my desk and processed some prescriptions and about 18-20 minutes later, Mike Lee sent me to a conference room where Samantha Mack was sitting at a table and two police officers were standing outside the door frame, and she terminated me for submitting “irrelevant”, “false” and “untruthful” claims. In the presence of the police and Mike Lee, she told me that she had been “conducting an investigation this entire time” and that “You were untruthful with me.” When I asked if I could see the evidence she had found in her “investigation”, she told me “That’s irrelevant because I asked everybody in your claim what happened and they said you lied, and you were untruthful with me.” She discharged me and I was “escorted” out of the building by the two police officers.

An investigation into my employment records at Prescription Plans would reveal that I was the most productive Data Entry Technician in Building “B”. The records will show that I was a dependable worker who frequently exceeded the company’s production goals. The records will show that I have never had to face disciplinary action for my job performance. A quarterly review document from 2009 will show that I had a 99% accuracy rate while processing for Medicine “A”. An investigation into my payroll information will reveal that I received a $500 bonus (approximately $485 after taxes) for excellent job performance. A review of company surveillance cameras would provide insight into identifying the sprayed substance and perpetrators who attacked me, as well as the identification of the employees involved in continuous harassing behavior. An investigation into the Building “A” security records would show the dates and times that I walked across the street to use the restroom, and the time clock records in Building “B” would show the dates and times I clocked out for lunch at different times of the day in efforts to escape harassment. An investigation into my employment history records along with Anthony Hodge’s would reveal how my private information was wrongfully shared, copied and plagiarized. A polygraph test on Heather Bradley (Data Entry Supervisor) would reveal that she was aware of the sprayed substance, verbal, sexual harassment and hostile work environment conditions and failed to submit a report to Human Resources. An investigation into the police report written by the Valley Heights police along with an inquiry into the “investigative actions” of Samantha Mack will show that she performed little to no investigative research into my claim; therefore, her wrongful termination would be in direct violation of the State Civil Rights Act.

On June 24th, 2010 I completed and submitted a formal complaint with the State Department on Human Rights (SDHR) in collaboration with Caitlin Armstrong, Supervisor of Investigations. On July 2nd, 2010 I received confirmation by mail that the complaint had been dually filed with SDHR and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In October 2010 the complaint was unsuccessfully mediated at the office of the SDHR. In March of 2011, I received a phone call from SDHR investigator George Douglas who scheduled a Complainant Interview. In April of 2011, the investigator and I held the Complainant Interview at the SDHR’s main office. In the summer of 2011, the investigator sent a request to interview particular employees; however, the employer never responded to the request. As the statue of limitations is rapidly approaching, I am interested in obtaining a right-to-Sue letter and filing a lawsuit in state court.

Name Job Title Description Mike Lee Operations Manager The highest data entry

manager in the building.

Responsible for the management of prescriptions

in Medicine “A”, “W”, “T”, “N”

and all other medical programs.

Samantha Mack Human Resources Generalist Responsible for investigating

employee related issues and

management of human resources staff.

Heather Bradley Data Entry Supervisor Manages all data entry

technicians on the Medicine

“A” program.

Scott Smiley Data Entry Supervisor Manages all data entry

technicians on the Medicine

“W” program.

Christina Damon Lead Data Entry Technician Has more responsibility and

authority than a Data Entry

Technician, serving as an

assistant supervisor for Heather Bradley.

Lauren Steffans Lead Data Entry Technician Has more responsibility and

authority than a Data Entry

Technician, serving as an

assistant supervisor for Heather Bradley.

Jessica Graham Lead Data Entry Technician Has more responsibility and

authority than a Data Entry

Technician, serving as an

assistant supervisor for Heather Bradley.

Lynette Williams Lead Data Entry Technician Has more responsibility and

authority than a Data Entry

Technician, serving as an

assistant supervisor for Heather Bradley.

Kim Gates Data Entry Supervisor Manages all data entry

technicians on a particular

program.

Lindsey Patrick Lead Data Entry Technician Has more responsibility and

authority than a Data Entry

Technician; assistant

supervisor for Heather Bradley