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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, MIAMI FL. OFFICE EEOC COMMISSION VOWS TO PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS-- IN REALITY, HELPS GET US FIRED MIAMI, Flori |
21st of Apr, 2013 by User615407 |
Some time ago, I turned to the EEOC of Miami to report more than 200 instances of violations in the workplace. These violations covered a range of violations, and classified as everything from gender harassment to sexual harassment; management permitting hostile work environment, and even violence in the workplace; open vulgarity and obscenity in the workplace, even within the view and hearing range of vistors/customers; off-handed, unfounded remarks about coworker's sexual orientation and preferences, including accusations of homosexuality and beastiality; age discrimination and mocking re: one's age; interrogation by supervisor into female employee's marital status, personal and sexual history (in presence of male coworkers); vandalism of personal property and work stations; age discrimination; interference with coworker's job performance; supervisory/management mocking employee's injury/handicap; violations of safety standards in the workplace; blatant and overt favoratism in job assignments and job training opportunities (to benefit of favored male employees)... etc., etc., etc. . Any/all of the violations cited above constitute violations of federal labor standards -- and the EEOC is SUPPOSED to represent the complainants who are victims of these violations. Nice theory... but in fact, the Miami EEOC was so negligent in handling my complaint (a painstaking process requiring the recording and reporting of more than 300 examples of violations at the worksite) that I was fired as a result of its stall tactics, negligence, apathy and negligence. No big surprise, perhaps, in the private sector -- but corrupt, absurd, astounding and outrageous in the so-called "government" sector. Violations are too numerous, varied, broad and detailed to cite in this report -- let's just say that there's a very chummy click of Gangsta'-Wannabe, old boy's club, male-oriented, gender-favored "crew" of employees that are still steadily and happily employed by the company at issue, despite having engaged in the most gross misconduct anyone could imagine (and despite having been reported to the Miami EEOC). This, largely because their female supervisor (26 yrs. old going on 12yrs.) and her BBF female "assistant" (50 yrs. old going on 16 yrs.) are far more concerned with which 'fine young male thing' gets the Hottie-Of-The-Month award than they are concerned with the welfare of female employees and male employees beyond the age of teenie-bopper mentality appeal. Suffice to say (not really, since there are no words descriptive enough to tell all) --If this collective pool of employee/supervisory scum is behaving today as it was yesterday, they will be blatantly, freely and happily engaged in the following modes of speech and behavior: (Quote): "I'd like to take you home to your condo, get you up on my hips, get up inside you, and ride you around your apartment;" "You can't argue with a man. You're job is to respect the man, because you ain't got nuthin' but a slit between your legs;" "Here comes the Asian Invasion" (reference to Asian tourist customers) -- "Oh, no... it's those fucking Euros;" (reference to European tourist custoers); "There's a lesbian wearing an Indian hat;" (reference to female coworker); "Watch out guys... here come the two old ladies;" (supervisor's remark to favored male employees); "She only comes when she gets on top... He's a fuckin' homo... Look at em' suck her tits..." (Dialog and visuals eminating from obscene dvd movie played routinely in workplace, in full view and hearing range of coworkers AND customers). "After dialing nine one one, call four one one for pain" (Supervisor's glib, so-called "humorous" take-off on tv ad, commenting to male employees about female employee's medical condition). Again-- Any legit labor law publication, whether private practice or government by source, would site examples of workplace violations that PALE by comparison, by number and by the variety of the violations/misconduct cited above -- Yet the EEOC dropped so many balls that it stalled off on the complainant (myself) for nearly two years before processing my complaint form. The first "investigator" played a sterling game of cat-and-mouse phone tag with me during the first eight months; the second "investigator" stepped in nearly one year later, only to demand that I start from scratch -- i.e., submit a new complaint, with more demands for hard-core supplemental evidence than the OJ Simpson trial commanded -- as though I were capable of recording audio/visual evidence IN THE PRESENCE of those engaging in the misconduct [Just TRY to record/gather/compile evidence of misconduct in the presence of the violators!] In the interim-- when and as and after my supervisors and coworkers were notified by the EEOC that I had filed a complaint against them -- their misconduct intensified, to the extent that it was more retaliative in nature than it had been prior to the notice. The EEOC's response was to inform me that the retaliative conduct -- and or retaliative disciplinary action or dismissal -- was, in and of itself, illegal. This, as defined by the protection extended under the "Whistleblower's Act." Nice try, but no cigar. I was fired by my employer after reporting that I was the victim of a physical assault by a coworker (defined as "assault and battery" by jurisdiction police agency). The EEOC's response was to "interview" and "investigate" on site at the workplace -- but not before I was out of out of a job and salary for approx. six months. Not only to little, too late -- but to add insult to injury, the so-called "investigator" dismissed the complaint... WAIT FOR IT... On the grounds that my supervisor/coworkers DENIED the charges and accusations. PEOPLE!: As children, many of us kept Chinese mini-hamsters (Or, what my ass-backwards, juvenile coworkers might have referred to as "Asian-Invasion hamsters") that would have known better than to readily-admit to having shat where they ate... yet, my genious so-called "investigator" was not half as insightful, thorough or competent as a child -- or, for that matter, a hamster-- would be. In the end, the employer, management, supervisor and coworkers were absolved of all blame -- the retaliative firing included -- all on the basis of utilizing the same clickish, ol' boy tactics to protect and defend themselves and their 'dogs' and 'homies' at the workplace 'hood' against the old lady bi-aaach and witness who filed the complaints against them. Thanks to the powers that be, the investigators assigned by the Florida state unemployment agency ruled against the company, and in my favor, on the matter of two appeals relating to my request for unemployment insurance (Yes, you can believe your eyes; the employer wasn't happy enough to have dodged a major labor law bullet when the EEOC dismissed my complaints... rather, it actually attempted to challenge my right to benefits for the wrongful dismissal!). Folks, I will say it appears that the EEOC *Jacksonville* office works at a level that is light years beyond what the Miami EEOC represents. I can only hope, for other victims/complainants out there, that all things-- and all EEOC branch offices-- are not equal. In one case, for example, the Jax EEOC ruled against a major employer (coffee distributor) when it punished a female employee to a degree that exceeded the level of punishment it extended to her male coworkers -- even as it appeared that both female and males were equally guilty of the same brand of misconduct. Moral of the story? Steer your Titanic clear of the destructive agency that is the Miami EEOC iceberg. This office will not just land you in limbo through your first year of effort, time, expense, trauma and stress... but it will misinform, misadvise, mishandle, misdiagnose and totally screw you while you do all their work for them... only to back off and back out after contributing to, and dismissing, a case of retaliative dismissal from employment. P.S.: Having been part of the workforce since 1969 without so much as a hint of disciplinary action and having achieved above-average ratings on your job performance throughout your employment history -- and having been fired for the first time in your life at 60 yrs. of age -- and having received volumes of commendations from customers (all retrieved and harbored by site supervisor, to withhold evidence of my high-level job performance) -- meant nothing to the Miami EEOC. Rather, the train-wreck of an investi-blotcher who handled my case conducted herself more like a defense attorney than a prosecutor -- in that she was more interested in trying the victim than she was in trying the accused. P.S.S.: All of this occurred in a National Park[!]. The employer at issue was/is a concessionaire that provides tours for park visitors. The violations were reported to the employer's executive officers, the park superintendant and the police department of jurisdiction. In the end, the Florida Unemployment Insurance Office was the only agency that didn't jump up its own butt to wallow in incompetence, gross negligence and scam-artist claims to fame. This site is a wonderful forum. Just when I thought there was nowhere left to turn, I discover the Ripoff Report option as a means of alerting the world of Florida to the antics of the Miami EEOC. I'm grateful... to say the least. Hope to hell it helps others who suffer a similar fate. |
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